At least 35 people have died and several are still missing after the roof of a stepwell collapsed at a temple in Indore on Thursday, 30 March.
Citing eyewitness accounts, Indore Police Commissioner Makrand Deoskar said that nearly 30-35 devotees fell into the well after the accident at Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in Patel Nagar, reported news agency PTI.
Rescue operations are still underway.
"It was an old stepwell which was covered. 19 people have been rescued alive…one or two rescued people are said to be critical. Because the water is muddy (as the debris got mixed with the shallow water), efforts are on to rescue the children who had gone missing…whoever is found guilty in the probe will face action," MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra said on Thursday evening.
Chief Minister Shivrah Singh Chouhan also paid his condolences to the victims.
"We are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief. Rs5 lakh each will be given to the relatives of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to the injured. Proper arrangements have been made for the treatment of the injured and the entire medical expenses will be borne by the state government," Chouhan tweeted.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed grief over the incident.
"Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore. Spoke to CM 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," Modi tweeted.
(Inputs by Ankit Parmar.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)