Flood toll rises to 300 in E India state

    NEW DELHI, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Around 300 people have died in Indian eastern Bihar state because of flooding from seasonal monsoon rains, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported Thursday.

    It quoted sources from Bihar's disaster management department as saying five people died since Wednesday, with the death toll from the floods in the state reaching 292 since this June.

    Samastipur district in Bihar alone accounted for 55 deaths, the maximum in the flooded state. More than 10.5 million people have been hit as huge areas of the impoverished state remain under water, the report said.

    Thousands of people in Bihar have been marooned or rendered homeless because of floods.