Image copyright AP Image caption About 100 spectators were inside the tent when it collapsed

A circus tent has collapsed during a severe storm in New Hampshire, killing a father and daughter and injuring 22 other people.

A performance was just starting when a storm with winds of up to 60mph (97kpm) hit the tent on Monday evening.

Although a thunderstorm warning was in effect for the region, it was unclear whether the spectators were aware of the storm's strength.

About 100 people were inside the tent when collapsed in the town Lancaster.

The injured were taken to hospitals for treatment.

Heidi Medeiros was at the circus with her three-year-old son when the tent went dark and she heard screams.

"I see these very large metal poles that are in the ground and go through the top of the tent, I see them starting to come out of the ground and fly up, into the air toward us," she told local television station WMUR-TV.

Ms Medeiros said she and son were not hurt, but the poles came within feet of their seats.

On Sunday, one man was killed and more than dozen people were hurt in a similar incident when a tent at music festival in Illinois broke from its mooring during a storm.