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Fourteen people were killed when a building collapsed in northern India following heavy monsoon rain which has left more than 100 dead across South Asia, officials said Monday.
            Floods and landslides caused by the annual deluge have wreaked deadly havoc from the Himalayan foothills to low-lying camps housing Rohingya refugees, with officials warning tolls could rise as they scramble to reach affected communities. In Bangladesh, at least 29 people have died in the last week, including 18 who were hit by lightning and seven who drowned after their boat capsized in choppy waters in the Bay of Bengal. Another 10 have died in overcrowded Rohingya refugee camps in the southeast of the country and thousands of shanty homes have been destroyed. In the latest monsoon-related tragedy in India, a four-storey building on a hillside in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh collapsed, trapping those who had gathered for a party inside.

            The structure located near popular tourist destination Shimla came down on Sunday following days of heavy downpours. Rescue workers used heavy machinery to remove heaps of mangled steel and wires from the muddied debris, pulling 28 survivors from the rubble. A statement from the state Chief Minister’s office said 14 people had died, all but one of whom were soldiers. One soldier who was pulled out alive from the rubble said they had gathered for a party in the building’s restaurant, “but suddenly the building shook and collapsed”. Such incidents are common across the region during the monsoon because of dilapidated structures that buckle under the weight of continuous rain. In neighbouring Nepal, police said at least 67 have been killed in floods and landslides, while 30 more are missing.