A heat wave has killed 450 people in the

past week in the sweltering coastal belt of the southern state of

Andhra Pradesh, a state relief official said Thursday.

Fresh reports of deaths, mainly among the poor, elderly, and

laborers such as agricultural workers and rickshaw pullers, pushed

the official toll to 450 since May 10, said Jagdish Reddy, the

assistance secretary of relief.

Temperatures were as high as 41 degrees Celsius (106 degrees

Fahrenheit) on Thursday along the coast of the Bay of Bengal, he

said.