39 killed as torrential rains pound eastern Indian state

At least 39 people have been killed over the past few days as torrential rains have flooded vast areas of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, with at least 1.8 million people affected, said officials on Sunday.

Some 13 districts of the state came under heavy rains since Friday night, mostly in southern part of the state, marooning over 1.8 million people, said officials in the state capital Kolkata.

A deep depression from the Bay of Bengal has triggered the excessive rainy weather, the meteorological department said.

West Bengal's chief minister Mamata Banerjee had cut short her visit to Britain to return home and toured the affected districts on Saturday.

She confirmed 39 rain-related deaths in the state, while vowing to support the flood-affected people.