Sagar:At least nine children were killed and several others injured when a wall crashed Sunday following heavy rains in the Shahpur area of Sagar district in Madhya Pradesh.
Sources told ETV Bharat that the wall of a dilapidated house crashed at around 9 am on Sunday with several children getting buried under it. The children, they said, had gathered for a program of Shivling construction organized near the Kuti temple in the area.
The massive wall crashed onto the children, following which locals rushed to the spot and started rescuing them. Nine children lost their lives while several others were injured in the incident.
The deceased children were identified as Dhruv (12 years), Nitesh (13), Ashutosh Prajapati (15), Prince Sahu (12), Parv (10), Divyansh (12 ), Devraj (12), Vansh (10), and Hemant (10).
The bodies as well as the injured children were shifted to the district hospital. Local MLA and former minister Gopal Bhargava reached the spot and directed officials to conduct proper relief work. The former minister also visited the hospital to know the condition of the injured children.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav offered condolences to the families of the victims and announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh for each family.
"Today, I am saddened to hear the news of 9 innocent children dying due to the collapse of the wall of a dilapidated house due to heavy rains in Shahpur of Sagar district. I have directed the district administration to provide proper treatment to the injured children. I pray to God to grant peace to the souls of the deceased children. I pray for the speedy recovery of the other children injured in the accident. I express my deepest condolences to the families who have lost their innocent children. The families of the deceased children will be given financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each by the government," Yadav said in a post on X.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for the next of kin of each deceased in the mishap in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000, his office said in a post on X.
The incident comes a day after four children were killed in a similar wall collapse in the Rewa district of the state. The wall of the abandoned and dilapidated building collapsed on the children, aged 5 to 7, while they were returning home from school under the Garh police station area on Saturday.
Police arrested Ramesh Namdev and Satish Namdev, the two owners of the building where the wall collapsed on Saturday night, Additional Superintendent of Police Vivek Lal told reporters. They were booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), he said.
The children from the Sunrise Public School were on their way home when the wall of the abandoned building nearby collapsed on them. Collector Pratibha Pal said the children were going home with a caretaker at the time. In Saturday's incident as well, Chief Minister Yadav announced financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each to families of the deceased.
