At least 14 people are killed in India when the cover of a temple's well collapses

Rescuers struggled to reach many other Hindu worshipers who were trapped and injured in a crowded temple in Indore during a religious festival.
At least 14 people were killed on Thursday when a well cover collapsed inside a crowded temple in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, causing several people to fall into the well, local officials said.
Rescuers were trying to help at least 16 other trapped and injured people at the inside the well, a communal water source lined with stairs at the edge of the Shri Bileshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in the city of Indore, according to the Commissioner of Police, Makrand Deoskar. Water was pumped out to aid in the process.
The temple, and many others throughout India, were full of devotees celebrating the Hindu festival of Ram Navami , Lord Ram's birthday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to the families on Twitter, saying he was "extremely saddened by the accident in Indore" .
Video footage from the temple showed people using a ladder to reach people trapped in the well, half of which was covered in iron mesh. The police used temple microphones to clear the crowds from the scene.
ImagePeople stand around a structure built over an ancient temple well that collapsed on Thursday as a large crowd of worshipers gathered for the Ram Navami Hindu festival in Indore.Credit...Associated Press
< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">A witness Prakash Patel said he was entering the temple when he heard a loud noise and worshipers started running and shouting for help. , and many of those who died were women and children,” he said.
Narottam Mishra, the Home Minister State of Madhya Pradesh, said the government had launched an investigation and that the families of those killed would be compensated.
The Ram Navami festival is marked by large processions of Hindu streets, and this year it falls during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Sectarian violence was reported in multiple locations including the states of West Bengal, Gujarat and Maharashtra on Thursday as worshipers clashed.

World Mar 30, 2023 0 67 Add to Reading List

At least 14 people are killed in India when the cover of a temple's well collapses

Rescuers struggled to reach many other Hindu worshipers who were trapped and injured in a crowded temple in Indore during a religious festival.

At least 14 people were killed on Thursday when a well cover collapsed inside a crowded temple in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, causing several people to fall into the well, local officials said.

Rescuers were trying to help at least 16 other trapped and injured people at the inside the well, a communal water source lined with stairs at the edge of the Shri Bileshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in the city of Indore, according to the Commissioner of Police, Makrand Deoskar. Water was pumped out to aid in the process.

The temple, and many others throughout India, were full of devotees celebrating the Hindu festival of Ram Navami , Lord Ram's birthday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to the families on Twitter, saying he was "extremely saddened by the accident in Indore" .

Video footage from the temple showed people using a ladder to reach people trapped in the well, half of which was covered in iron mesh. The police used temple microphones to clear the crowds from the scene.

ImagePeople stand around a structure built over an ancient temple well that collapsed on Thursday as a large crowd of worshipers gathered for the Ram Navami Hindu festival in Indore.Credit...Associated Press< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">A witness Prakash Patel said he was entering the temple when he heard a loud noise and worshipers started running and shouting for help. , and many of those who died were women and children,” he said.

Narottam Mishra, the Home Minister State of Madhya Pradesh, said the government had launched an investigation and that the families of those killed would be compensated.

The Ram Navami festival is marked by large processions of Hindu streets, and this year it falls during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Sectarian violence was reported in multiple locations including the states of West Bengal, Gujarat and Maharashtra on Thursday as worshipers clashed.