So far, 36 people have died after a stepwell roof in the Indore temple collapsed on Thursday, news agency PTI reported. "Eighteen people were admitted to the hospital, out of which two have been discharged. Thirty-five people died. One person is still missing," Indore Collector Dr Ilayaraja said on Friday. He told ANI that the Army, the NDRF and the SDRF teams are conducting a search and rescue operation to trace the missing person.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan informed that an FIR has been registered and a "magisterial inquiry ordered into the incident". "We have ordered an inspection of such step-wells and borewells across the state," he said.
Chouhan announced that the injured will be treated free of cost and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also announced ex-gratia to the victims. He said this after inspecting the rescue efforts at the mishap site.
#WATCH | Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan along with his cabinet ministers inspects rescue efforts at the site of the stepwell collapse in Indore.
The incident has claimed 35 lives till now. pic.twitter.com/qx8APzgpyh— ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) March 31, 2023
On Thursday, PM Modi said an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the PMNRF will be "given to the next of kin of each deceased in the unfortunate tragedy in Indore". The injured will be given Rs 50,000, he said.
What happened on Thursday
The slab constructed on top of an ancient 'bawdi' or stepwell collapsed during a 'havan' programme held on the occasion of Ram Navami at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in Patel Nagar, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on Thursday.
Following the collapse, several devotees were plunged into the water reservoir below.
An eyewitness said that during the religious programme, there was a huge crowd of devotees at the temple and its floor caved in as it could not bear the load.
According to the news agency PTI, the temple was constructed after covering the square-shaped stepwell of around 20 ft x 20 ft size about four decades ago. Local residents said that the temple was built by laying a slab over the ancient stepwell.
Rescue operation on
Eyewitnesses said that after 11.30 pm on Thursday, the process of recovering bodies from the well and sending them to a hospital for post-mortem intensified.
A joint team of the Army and the NDRF descended into the well with the help of a crane and trolley to recover the bodies.
"The rescue operation was initially hampered as the temple was built in a narrow space and a wall was broken to lower a pipe to pump out water from the well," officials said.
"There is a lot of silt in the well and it is being removed to trace the missing person," Illayaraja was quoted as saying.
First Published: Mar 31, 2023 10:04 AM IST
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