India's rains leave 786 dead

Floods, landslides and building collapses caused by India's heaviest-ever recorded rainfall have killed at least 786 people and brought the financial capital Mumbai to a near-standstill, police said, AFP reported.

Weather officials predicted more heavy rain for the city of 15 million, where schools, banks and stock markets were closed and public transport barely operating.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who Thursday toured the rain-ravaged areas in a helicopter, said he was "deeply pained by this human tragedy" and announced emergency aid totalling seven billion rupees (162 million dollars) for the Maharashtra state government.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry estimated damage in Maharashtra at 10 billion rupees.

B.M. Kulkarni, who heads Maharashtra state's police emergency control room, told AFP that 273 people had died in Mumbai and at least 513 in other parts of the state.

Source: CD/Agencies