Efforts are being made to pull out the people who fell into the stepwell. The accident took place on the occasion of Ram Navami when the temple was witnessing a huge rush of devotees.
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Indore: At least 14 persons were killed in Madhya Pradesh after the floor of a temple built over a stepwell collapsed on Thursday, police said. More than a 100 devotees were offering prayers at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in Indore’s Patel Nagar locality to mark Ram Navami when the floor capping the decades-old well, said to be 50 feet deep, caved in.
The dead included 10 women, state Home Minister Narottam Mishra told reporters. Officials said the toll is likely to go up as around 10 other devotees were still trapped, some of who are believed to be children.
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“An ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakhs to be given to next of kin of deceased while Rs 50,000 will be given to the injured,” said MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
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President Droupadi Murmu expressed condolence over the death of people in stepwell collapse at Indore temple in Madhya Pradesh; prays for the quick recovery of those injured.
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The space where the well is located is narrow, and therefore, hindrance was being faced during the rescue operation, said the officials.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the mishap in Indore and spoke to CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
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“Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore. Spoke to CM Shivraj Chouhan 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,” he tweeted.
The well that collapsed was at least 50-60 feet deep and was full with water. People, who were stuck in the well, were being rescued with the help of ropes.
CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan who termed the incident as ‘unfortunate’ informed that at least 10 people have been rescued so far and the police teams are working to rescue as many people as possible. Several ambulances were deployed at the site and the injured are quickly evacuated to the nearby hospitals.
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“Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has taken cognizance of the incident and discussed it with Indore’s Collector and police Commissioner over phone and instructed to speed up the rescue operation. Apart from that Chief Minister’s Office is also in constant touch with the Indore district administration,” the statement read.
