Rescue teams in India struggle to reach submerged homes following flooding, landslides

Rescue teams in India struggled through thick sludge and debris on Saturday to reach dozens of submerged homes as the death toll from landslides and accidents caused by torrential monsoon rains rose to 125.

Maharashtra state is being hit by the heaviest rain in July in four decades, experts say.

Downpours lasting several days have severely affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, while major rivers are in danger of bursting their banks.

In Taliye, about 180 kilometres southeast of the financial capital of Mumbai, the death toll rose to 42 with the recovery of four more bodies after landslides