Picture shown is for illustrative purposes only. File photo

At least 12 people lost their lives after a two-storeyed house collapsed, reduced to rubble following an explosion in Walidpur, a village in Uttar Pradesh state.

Heavy rains kill 17 in western India

Top state police officer O P Singh says another 15 people were injured in Monday's collapse in a village in the country's north.

Singh remarks police are investigating whether the collapse was caused by a cooking gas container exploding in the building.

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

Meanwhile, Additional Chief Secretary Awanish Awasthi confirmed this incident to the news agency PTI.

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