Indian storm death toll reaches 27
At least 27 people have died in a storm in north India that saw 70 mph winds uproot trees and knock down homes.
Police official Surendra Srivastava said Monday night's lightning and hail storm injured an additional 23 people across Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state.
He said that in one incident five members of a family died when a tree crushed their mud home in Rampur, 185 miles south-west of the capital of Lucknow.
Uprooted trees blocked highways outside major cities in the state.
Local government official Om Prakash Sharma said electricity was out in 22 districts.
The storm came before the annual monsoon rains that can wreak havoc across India. The monsoon usually reaches north India in June.