Death toll rises after India monsoon flooding

Tens of thousands of people in the Indian state of Kerala were stranded on Thursday as waters rose amid extensive flooding.

One of the state's main airports remained closed as Kerala's chief minister said that the death toll had risen to more than 250 people since the beginning of the monsoon season.

Crops on over a thousand hectares of land have been devastated and 31,000 people have been forced to take refuge in rescure camps.

Indian authorities have taken the unprecedented step of releasing water from 35 dangerously full dams, sending a surge into its main river to prevent potentially disastrous breaches.