7 dead, including 4 children, as India steps up evacuations ahead of cyclone

Four boys drowned after venturing into rough seas in Mumbai as Indian authorities began evacuating people from western coastal areas on Tuesday, two days before a powerful cyclone approaches Gujarat state and neighbouring southern Pakistan.

Classified as a very severe cyclonic storm, Biparjoy is expected to make landfall around Thursday evening between Mandvi in India's Gujarat and Karachi in Pakistan with maximum sustained wind speed of 125-135 km (78-84 miles) per hour, gusting to 150 km (93 miles) per hour, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

"Four boys drowned at Juhu beach on Monday evening. So far, we have found the bodies of two, and the search is still ongoing to locate the remaining two," said a police official in Mumbai, India's western metropolis that is south of Gujarat.

High waves in the Arabian Sea, accompanied by a heavy downpour and gusting winds pounded Gujarat's coastal areas, uprooting trees and resulting in wall collapse that killed three people in Kutch and Rajkot districts of the state, authorities said.

Eight districts in coastal Gujarat are expected to be affected, the state government said. Fishing operations in the region have been suspended till Friday while schools have declared holidays.

Gujarat is home to many offshore oil installations and major ports in the country and most have been forced to suspend operations.

According to the Gujarat government, 21 teams of the National Disaster Response Force and 13 teams of the State Disaster Response Force have been deployed in the state for rescue work.

"We have already started evacuations from coastal areas. More than 7,000 people have been evacuated so far and the number is expected to cross 50-60 thousand," said Kamal Dayani, a senior state official.

Two of India's largest ports - Kandla and Mundra - located in Gujarat, have suspended operations, the state government said. Other ports including Bedi, Navlakhi, Porbandar, Okha, Pipavav and Bhavnagar have also closed due to the cyclone, according to shipping sources.

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