Indore: In a major mishap, at least 14 people died and several others were trapped after the cover of a well they were standing on caved in at a temple in Madhya Pradesh's Indore on Thursday, officials said. The district administration and fire and rescue personnel were roped in to rescue the victims.
As per the latest inputs, 14 bodies were recovered from the site while at least 19 people were rescued from the well. The incident was reported at the Beleshwar temple located in Patel Nagar on Thursday. Nearly 30-35 devotees fell into the well, said Indore Police Commissioner Makrand Deoskar citing eyewitness accounts.
"19 people rescued alive. 11 bodies recovered. Condition of a few among those rescued is critical...CM has announced Rs 5 Lakhs each ex-gratia for deceased; Rs 50,000 each for injured," Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra told the media. Later the death toll increased to 14 after more bodies were recovered from the site. According to a senior police official, the devotees including the elderly, women, and children, were worshiping the deity on the occasion of Ram Navami, standing over the well when the mishap occurred.
"All of them were trapped in the well. Rescue works are underway. We have rescued 19 people from the well," the official said. Sources confirmed that 14 bodies were also recovered from the site. The police team, SDERF (State Disaster Emergency Response Force) team, and district revenue officials were involved in the rescue operations. The senior officials visited the site and took stock of the rescue operations.
In a video that captured the moments after the cave-in, several devotees are seen holding ropes and coming out from the caved-in area with the policemen who are part of the rescue efforts advising the people on the spot to remain calm and support them.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakhs to next of kin of deceased while Rs 50,000 to the injured. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was extremely pained by the mishap and had reviewed the situation while speaking to MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
"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 with all those affected and their families," PM Modi tweeted.
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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 with all those affected and their families.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 30, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">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 with all those affected and their families.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 30, 2023Extremely 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 with all those affected and their families.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 30, 2023
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