At least 14 people died on Thursday when they plunged into a well after its cover collapsed inside a packed temple in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, local officials said.
Rescuers were trying to help at least 16 other people who were trapped and injured inside the well, a community water fountain lined with stairs below the floor at the Shri Bileshwar Mahadev Jhulelal Temple in Indore city, according to the police commissioner. , Makrand Deoskar. . Water was being pumped in to help the process.
The temple, and many others across India, were packed with 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 hurt by the mishap in Indore.”
video images of the temple showed people using a ladder to reach people trapped in the pit, half of which was covered with iron mesh. Police officers used temple microphones to clear the crowd from the scene.
A witness, Prakash Patel, said he was entering the temple when he heard a loud noise and worshipers started running out, yelling for help.
“Some people inside the pit clung to an iron mesh, and many of those who died were women and children,” he said.
Narottam Mishra, the Madhya Pradesh state home minister, said the government had opened an investigation and the families of those killed would be compensated.
The Ram Navami festival is marked by large Hindu street processions, and this year fell during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Sectarian violence was reported Thursday in several places, including the states of West Bengal, Gujarat and Maharashtra, as worshipers clashed.
