India cyclone toll mounts to 68

A cyclone packing speeds of more than 100mph (160 kph) demolished tens of thousands of mud huts in villages in northeastern India, killing at least 68 people, officials said Wednesday. The cyclone struck Tuesday night in northeastern parts of West Bengal and Bihar states, uprooted trees and snapping telephone and electricity lines, West Bengal Civil Defense Minister SrikumarMukherjee said. Hundreds of people were injured. The cyclone demolished nearly 50,000 mud huts in West Bengal andmore than 1,000 in Bihar, officials said.The worst-hit villages in West Bengal state were Hematabad, Raiganj and Kiran Dighi, where police and rescue teams have recovered 31 bodies, Mukherjee said. Another 37 people were killed in the northeastern Bihar districts of Araria, Kishenganj and Purnea, top Bihar state official Nitish Kumar told reporters.

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