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The stepwell roof at the Beleshwar temple collapsed…
Indore: On Thursday, the roof of a stepwell suddenly collapsed at a temple in Madhya Pradesh's Indore. As many as 35 people have been killed so far. The stepwell roof at the Beleshwar Mahadev temple could not handle the weight of a massive crowd on the ninth day of Navratri (Ram Navami).
"Total of 35 people died, one missing and 14 people have been rescued. Two people returned home safely after getting treatment.
The search operation to trace persons missing is going on" Indore Collector Ilayaraja T said, as quoted by news agency ANI.
"The 18 hours long rescue operation started at around 12:30 on Thursday, and is still ongoing," he added.
Managed by a private trust, the temple is located at Sneh Nagar, one of the oldest residential colonies in Indore.
Sources told that the tragedy could have been averted had the Indore Municipal Corporation acted on the complaints filed by residents.
On Ram Navami, a havan was being performed on the concrete slab covering a stepwell which also served as the platform of the temple.
The slab was not that strong to hold the weight of 30-40 people, resulting in devotees plunging into the 40-foot-deep stepwell.
Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced Rs. 5 lakh compensation to the families of the victims and Rs. 50,000 to those injured in the freak accident.
PM Narendra Modi spoke with Mr. Chouhan to take stock of the situation.
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