India

Rescuers were seen using their hands to dig up the ground and retrieve bodies, local television showed, and authorities said more victims could be trapped inside the debris. Rescuers were also shown carrying the injured through narrow lanes on makeshift stretchers.

Within the last 24 hours authorities have so far reported 11 incidents of houses or walls collapsing in the Mumbai area, officials said.

In one neighbourhood about half a dozen shacks located at the base of a hill collapsed on top of each other, officials said.

Their mothers had contracted Covid-19 more than a month ago. The children had developed no symptoms of the disease. At the 1,000-bed Kasturba Hospital in Sevagram, the young patients, however, were found to have antibodies to Covid-19, indicating past infection.

Now they were battling a rare, inflammatory and potentially life threatening condition called multi-system inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). This condition usually develops four to six weeks after children and teenagers have recovered from Covid-19.

Gullu Chaudhary said he was alerted by the cries of the 21-day-old and found her wrapped in a red scarf in the box decorated with images of Hindu deities.

The baby has been taken to hospital and her health is being monitored. She will be sent to a shelter home later.

Officials are investigating how the baby ended up in the river.

Ziona Chana, the head of a religious sect that practiced polygamy, died on Sunday, leaving behind 38 wives, 89 children and 36 grandchildren.

The news was confirmed by Mizoram's chief minister, Zoramthanga, who offered his condolences on Twitter "with a heavy heart".

Chana reportedly suffered from diabetes and hypertension.

Doctors told PTI news agency that Chana's condition deteriorated at home in his village, Baktawng Tlangnuam. He was rushed to hospital on Sunday evening, where he was declared dead on arrival.

As his condition deteriorated, the patient was put on a ventilator. He was administered steroids, a life-saving treatment for severe and critically ill Covid-19 patients. But experts say the drug also reduces immunity and pushes up blood sugar levels in patients.

After a prolonged stay in the ICU, the patient had recovered and was ready to go home when doctors found he was infected with a deadly, drug-resistant fungus.

Experts warn that the real number of fatalities might be much higher as many deaths are not officially recorded.

India has recorded 26 million cases - second only to the US - and is now the epicentre of the global pandemic.

The country is also only the third in the world to record more than 300,000 deaths - behind the US and Brazil.

It took less than a month to record its last 100,000 deaths.

The normally rare infection, called mucormycosis, has a mortality rate of 50%, with some only saved by removing an eye or jaw bone.

But in recent months, India saw thousands of cases affecting recovered and recovering Covid-19 patients.

Doctors suspect there may be a link with the steroids used to treat Covid.

Diabetics are at particular risk, with doctors telling the BBC it seems to strike 12 to 15 days after recovery from Covid.

On Thursday, Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal wrote to India's 29 states to ask them to declare it an epidemic.

The death toll is expected to rise as rescue operations continue. At least 53 people are still missing.

A navy warship returned to the city's harbour on Wednesday with some of the 186 survivors rescued so far.

Thirty-five people have also been rescued from another of the three other barges stranded due to cyclone Tauktae.

The cyclone weakened after it made landfall on Monday, but at least 19 people are confirmed as having died on land in the storm.

Govind Kant, a Sydney businessman, died on Sunday, his company said.

He had travelled to Delhi in April for family reasons.

Mr Kant is believed to be the second Australian to have died in India amid a temporary travel ban imposed after a devastating second wave. Australian officials are yet to comment.

The three-week ban on Indian arrivals ended on Saturday, but more than 9,000 Australians remain stuck in the country.

The players and staff had been involved in the Indian Premier League which was suspended this month.

They flew to the Maldives after Australia banned all arrivals from India following a surge in Covid cases.

While the controversial ban was lifted on 15 May, thousands of Australians remain stranded in India.

The cricketers - among them former Australian captain Steve Smith, David Warner and Pat Cummins - will now complete 14 days' quarantine in Sydney.