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26 killed in UP hailstorm

At least 26 people were killed in a severe hailstorm that lashed four districts in eastern Uttar Pradesh early this morning.

Reports received by the state headquarters in Lucknow said the hailstorm left 13 dead in Azamgarh district, while seven people were killed in Chandauli, four in Varanasi and two in Mau.

According to Rajiv Ratna Shah, the principal secretary (home), the hailstorm accompanied by rain caused widespread damage to property and standing crops in Kandarapur, Viyanpur and Ahraula police stations areas of Azamgarh district.

According to a report from Varanasi, transport, communication and electric supply were disrupted and crops were damaged in the hailstorm which lashed Varanasi and the neighbouring district of Chandauli.

The Varanasi meteorological department said the hailstorm was caused by the creation of a low pressure zone over the area.

An on-the-sport survey by senior officials was being conducted to assess the extent of damage to crop in the affected districts, Shah said.

The villages in Azamgarh district where the deaths were reported from included Zamirkandra, Joharakhpur, Madhuban, Akrapur, Shikchanpur, Gadanpur, Azmatgarh, Tiwari Padri, Devpur and Badio.

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