(New Delhi) The death toll from a Hindu temple floor collapse in India rose to 36 on Friday after rescuers found the lifeless body of the last person still wanted, police said. AFP.
Dozens of worshipers fell Thursday into a bâoli, a well lined with stairs used for religious rituals, when the floor of the temple, which covered it, gave way under their weight.
The accident happened in the city of Indore, in the state of Madhya Pradesh (Central).
“Seventeen people were rescued yesterday [Thursday]. Thirty-six bodies were found,” policeman Manish Kapooria told AFP.
Women, children and an 18-month-old baby were on the floor of the grated temple which buckled before giving way, plunging them to the bottom of the 7.5 meter deep pit, the Times of India newspaper reported.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday he was “extremely saddened” by the tragedy.
“The government is carrying out rescue and relief operations at a steady pace,” he added. “My prayers go out to all those affected and their families.”
Relatives of the victims will receive 200,000 rupees (C$3,295) in compensation, Modi’s office said.
An investigation has been opened into the accident, Narottam Mishra, interior minister of Madhya Pradesh state, confirmed to the press.
Police official Manish Kapooriya told AFP that rescue operations were continuing as the survivors were taken to hospital.
Television footage showed rescuers setting up ropes and ladders to reach people trapped in the well.
Temples across India were overflowing with worshipers on the Ram Navami festival, celebrating the birthday of the Hindu deity Rama.
In India, fatal accidents are frequent in places of worship during religious festivals.
In 2016, at least 112 people died when a fireworks warehouse explosion sparked a massive fire near a Hindu temple in the state of Kerala.
Three years earlier, 115 Hindu worshipers died following a mob on a bridge near a temple in Madhya Pradesh state.
The stampede had occurred following a rumor that the bridge had collapsed, as 400,000 people had gathered in the area.
In 2008, a stampede killed 224 and injured more than 400 pilgrims to a hilltop temple in the northern Indian city of Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
