An incessant downpour battered Kerala again on Wednesday, resulting in 28 more deaths and more destruction and forcing authorities to issue a red alert across the southern state.

A lineman was electrocuted while repairing an electric pole at Boliamajalu near here on Wednesday.

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's condition has worsened over the last 24 hours and is on life support system, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said on Wednesday.

Fulfilling a long-cherished dream, Indian adventurist Shital Rane-Mahajan on Wednesday dived from over 5,000 feet in Finland with a Tricolour to mark India's 72nd Independence Day.

The Navy on Wednesday rescued more than 80 persons as the flood situation worsened in Kerala again, leaving a fresh trail of death and destruction.

The KSRTC authorities said that all Volvo and Rajahamsa bus service between Mangaluru and Bengaluru route was suspended following heavy rains in the region. KSRTC red buses would ply on Charmadi Ghat road to Bengaluru.

A physically disabled actor-cum-director died in a road accident at Veerananjipura near Nelamangala on Wednesday.

Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy who hoisted the tricolour as part of the 72nd Independence Day at the Manekshaw Parade Grounds here on Wednesday, wished the people of the state on the occasion of the Independence Day.