A local official informed AFP that the dead toll from the floor collapse at a Hindu temple in India had increased to 35 and that search efforts were still being made for one person who was still missing.
On Thursday, dozens of worshipers in Indore’s capital city dived into the stepwell after the floor covering it crumbled as they observed a significant religious holiday. The stepwell is a stair-lined public water source.
“Thirty-five people are dead. One person is still missing. Rescue operations are on,” Indore district magistrate Ilayaraja T. told AFP by phone.
Rescuers were attempting to determine whether or not a second person reported missing had also fallen down the well, according to a witness at the scene who spoke to AFP.
According to the Times of India newspaper, people standing on the grill over the well when it came way included women, children, and an 18-month-old baby. They were then thrown into around 7.5 meters (25 feet) of water.
The accident’s news left Prime Minister Narendra Modi “very grieved,” he stated on Thursday.
“The state government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace,” he added. “My prayers with all those affected and their families.”
The next of kin would get compensation payments totaling 200,000 rupees ($2,400), according to Modi’s office.
The incident is the subject of an investigation, Madhya Pradesh state home minister Narottam Mishra informed reporters on Thursday.
Emergency personnel were shown on television on Thursday using ropes and ladders to reach people stuck in the Madhya Pradesh state well.
Other cameras showed the collapsed floor, broken steel bars, and police personnel roping in the area.
On the occasion of Ram Navami, the birthday of the Hindu deity Lord Ram, temples all over India were packed with worshippers.
In India, fatal accidents frequently occur at places of worship during important religious holidays.
In 2016, a massive explosion brought on by a prohibited fireworks display at a temple celebrating the Hindu new year resulted in at least 112 fatalities.
A large crowd of people had gathered at a temple complex in Kerala state when the bomb tore through concrete buildings and started a fire.
Following a rush at a bridge at a temple in Madhya Pradesh in 2013, another 115 people perished.
The stampede happened when a rumor that the bridge was ready to collapse spread among the up to 400,000 people who had congregated there.
A 2008 stampede at a hilltop temple in the northern city of Jodhpur resulted in approximately 224 pilgrims dying and more than 400 people being hurt.
