Ranchi, 23 August

Five people were killed, one person was missing, and several others were injured as heavy rains wreaked havoc in parts of Jharkhand, officials said on Saturday morning.

A woman and her seven-year-old son died after their house collapsed in Seraikela-Kharsawan district on Friday night, they said.

Eight more people were injured in the incident, which happened in Dandu village in Rajnagar block, they added.

"The woman and her son died during treatment at the MGM Hospital in Jamshedpur. Eight others were also injured as the kuchcha house of one Santosh Lohar collapsed," Rajnagar's BDO Malay Das told PTI.

The incident happened when relatives were visiting Lohar's house, a police officer said.

In another incident in the district, a five-year-old died and three others were injured as the wall of a house collapsed on Saturday morning, police said.

The incident happened around 4 am in Kol Shimla in the Kharsawan police station area, they said.

"The wall of the house of one Munna Bodra collapsed. His five-year-old son died on the spot, while Bodra, his wife and their two-year-old daughter were injured. They have been admitted to the Seraikela Sadar Hospital," Kharsawan police station's officer-in-charge Gaurav Kumar said.

In Chatra district, a couple was washed away in the swelling Siyari river on Friday, police said.

The incident happened in Katghara village, he said.

"The body of the husband was recovered, while the wife is still missing," Gidhour's BDO Rahul Dev told PTI.

A person was also killed in Khairatola village in Pathalgada block of the district in a rain-related incident, officials said.

Incessant rains have lashed the state over the last 24 hours. As a result, trees and electricity poles were uprooted in several places, houses collapsed, and roads and farmlands were inundated.

In Ranchi, concrete slabs on both sides of an under-construction rail overbridge near the Piska station collapsed, causing a major traffic jam on NH 43, an official said.

No casualty was reported in the incident, he said.

Waterlogging on NH-39 at Brambe Bazar in the capital also caused a major traffic disruption, he added.

In Chatra's Pathgada, hundreds of chickens died at a poultry farm amid heavy rains.

The Subernarekha river was flowing above the danger mark at Mango bridge in Jamshedpur. The Kharkai river was also flowing above the red mark at Adityapur bridge.

The IMD issued a heavy rain alert for most parts of the state till 25 August.