Indian cold snap kills more than 200 people

[senorpepr]

NEW DELHI (AFP) - The death toll from a three-week cold snap gripping northern India mounted to more than 200 as authorities struggled to provide emergency shelter to the homeless.

Nineteen people died overnight in the northern plains state of Uttar Pradesh when the mercury plunged to near zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit), the Press Trust of India news agency said Friday.

"The bitter cold nights have been hell for the homeless. We have been trying to give at least one hot meal to street children," G. Krishna, a state official in Uttar Pradesh told AFP.

"Elderly people living on the streets are also particularly vulnerable," he added.

The latest deaths in Uttar Pradesh brought the state's toll from the cold to 136. Authorities in the state have also been lighting public bonfires and opened temporary shelters for the homeless.

In adjoining Bihar, the chill weather has claimed 36 lives, according to police and press reports.

Seven more deaths were reported in central Madhya Pradesh state, bringing the toll there to 13. Authorities were scrambling to provide shelter to people on the streets and medicine for those suffering from cold-related ailments.

At least 20 people have been killed in vehicle accidents on northern Indian highways due to thick fog accompanying the winter weather, police said.

Weather-monitoring officials attribute the cold snap to disturbances over the Himalayas.

Last winter's cold spell claimed almost 1,400 lives in India where homes are more suited to handle scorching summers during which temperatures can shoot up to 49 degrees Celcius (120 degrees Fahrenheit).