Indian police say 12 killed when house collapses in north

LUCKNOW: At least 12 people were killed after a two-story house collapsed Monday in a village in north India, officials said.

Another 13 people were injured in the collapse in Walidpur, a village in Uttar Pradesh state, said Awanish Awasthi, a state government spokesman. The village is nearly 250 kilometers (155 miles) southeast of Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh.

Top state police officer OP Singh said police were investigating whether the collapse was caused by a cooking gas container exploding in the building.

Singh said five people from a single family were killed at the location, while another seven succumbed to their injuries in a hospital.

Building collapses are common in India during the monsoon season, when heavy rains weaken the foundations of structures that are poorly constructed. Uttar Pradesh and some other Indian states were lashed by heavy rains last month.