PATNA, India – Indian officials say strong winds, rain and lightning have killed at least 38 people this week, including four members of a family who were crushed when a tall minaret at a mosque collapsed on their home.
State official Pallavi Mishra said Wednesday that three other people were injured when the 30-meter (100-foot) minaret fell on their home in northern Uttar Pradesh state on Tuesday night.
Winds blowing at about 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour demolished mud homes and knocked over trees and electric poles.
Officials said 19 people died in Uttar Pradesh and the same number in eastern Bihar state.
The southwest monsoon arrived in Kerala at the southern tip of India on Tuesday, starting the crop-planting season in a four-month journey from the south to northern India.