Gales topple Taj Mahal minarets

TWO minarets at the entry gates of the Taj Mahal have been toppled by an 80mph storm.

One was a 12ft metal pillar at the main gate of the 17th-century monument near Agra, northern India. The other was a smaller pillar at the southern gate.

The damage (circled) was minor and will be repaired, said a spokesman for the Archaeological Survey of India.

No damage was done to the white marble monument itself, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal and visited by seven million tourists every year.