MP: At least 13 killed as roof of well collapses at Indore temple

Bhopal: At least 13 people were killed and several injured after the roof of a ‘bawdi’ (stepwell) collapsed at a temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore on Thursday.

The incident occurred around 12 pm when devotees were offering prayer during the ‘havan’ on the occasion of Ram Navami at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal Temple in the Patel Nagar area of the city.

“Rescue teams have recovered 11 bodies including 10 women and a man and 19 injured from the stepwell so far. Two of the injured people succumbed later while two children remained trapped inside the stepwell. The toll rose to 13. A probe has been ordered into the matter,” MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra said.

“The incident took place at the Baleshwar temple after a slab collapsed inside the stepwell, where devotees were offering puja on it”, Home Minister, Mishra confirmed the incident.

According to an eyewitness, during the religious programme, there was a huge crowd on the roof of the ‘bawdi’ in the temple. As the structure could not bear the load of so many people, it caved in and nearly 30-35 devotees fell into the well.

“It’s an unfortunate incident. A rescue operation is underway. 17 people were rescued safely. Efforts are underway to rescue other people”, MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.

CM Chouhan announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 Lakh to be given to the next of kin of the deceased while Rs 50,000 will be given to the injured.

In a statement earlier, the chief minister’s office said eight people were evacuated and rushed to the hospital while local administration, including police, district administration, and SDRF, were involved in the rescue operation. “Several ambulances were also deployed at the site”, it said.

Chouhan has taken cognizance of the incident and discussed it with Indore’s Collector and Police Commissioner over the phone and instructed to speed up the rescue operation. Apart from that, CM’s Office is also in constant touch with the Indore district administration,” the statement read.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to state that he has spoken to MP CM Chouhan about the mishap.

“Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore. Spoke to CM @ChouhanShivraj Ji and took an update on the situation. The state government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace. My prayers are with all those affected and their families,” PM Modi said.

Former MP CM and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijay Singh visited the incident site and expressed extreme pain on the incident. “How did the incident happen? How did construct the slab and who permitted it? A probe should be conducted into the incident.