At least 16 people have died and 12 others injured due to heavy rains and flooding in 16 districts of Uttar Pradesh in India on Sunday. Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel were called in and they rescued 14 people stranded in Lalitpur and Jhansi districts.

Around 461 houses are said to have been damaged and 18 animals also died from the rains. The meteorological department has meanwhile predicted rainfall throughout the state for the next two days, reports newsworldindia.in.

UP Relief Commissioner’s office in a statement on Sunday said, ‘Six people lost their lives in Shahjahanpur, while three died in Sitapur district and two people each in Auraiyya and Amethi’.

One person died in Lakhimpur Kheri, Rae Bareli and Unnao.

District Magistrate of Shahjahanpur, Amrit Tripathi said that 4 youngsters were grazing cattle in the Shamsherpur village when sudden rains forced them to take shelter under a tree.

‘Mohit (24), Bablu (5), Anmol (10) and Dablu (11) died when they were struck by lightning, while three were seriously injured,’ he said.

‘Vandana (11) of Nabipur village and Ashok (42) of Sikandarpur village, also lost their lives when lightning struck them,’ Tripathi said.

‘Sub-Divisional Magistrate Ramji Mishra was sent to the spot. Financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh is being made available to kin of the deceased,’ he said.

In the Lalitpur and Jhansi districts of the state, IAF personnel rescued 14 people that were stranded. While 6 people were stranded in a village of Lalitpur district, 8 fishermen were marooned on an island near Erech Dam on the Betwa River after a sudden rise in water level due to heavy rains.

Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner Sanjay Kumar said, ‘All six people were successfully rescued in Lalitpur district. The IAF team did a fantastic job.’

He added, ‘the district magistrate of Jhansi has confirmed that all eight fishermen have been successfully rescued by an IAF team.’

The deaths in Uttar Pradesh come at a time when Kerala is inching back to normalcy after facing brutal rains and flooding that have led to the death of more than 400 people and left nearly 8 lakh homeless.