The death toll following the collapse of part of the floor of a Hindu temple in the central Indian city of Indore has risen to 35, as confirmed by the authorities, who have indicated that a total of fourteen people have been rescued following the incident.
A total of 35 people have died, one person is missing and fourteen people have been rescued», said the district magistrate Ilayaraja T., who stressed that »there is an operation to try to find the missing person», according to the Indian news agency ANI.
Thus, he said that search and rescue operations have been active since the time of the incident, around 12.30 pm (local time) on Thursday. The temple is located in Sneh Nagar, one of the oldest districts of Indore.
According to information from the Indian television channel NDTV, the incident occurred due to the collapse of a large concrete slab covering a well about twelve meters deep due to the presence of dozens of people in the temple during the celebration of Rama Navami, a Hindu festival commemorating the birth of the god Rama.
The network has also assured that it has obtained documents that show that during the last year the local residents informed the private company that owns the temple of the poor state of the facilities. The local authorities initially ordered the destruction of the slab covering the well, although they backed down due to warnings about possible damage to the religious sentiments of the community.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed regret over what happened and offered the central government’s help to the regional authorities. »My prayers are with all those affected and their families,» he has said on Twitter. In addition, he has contacted the chief minister of the state of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who has also joined the condolences and offered funds to compensate the victims for the tragedy.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
