Lagatar24 Desk
Indore, March 31: The death toll in the Indore temple stepwell collapse has increased to 35, Indore Collector said on Friday.
“A 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 reported missing is underway,” Indore Collector said.
“The 18 hours long rescue operation started at around 12:30 on Thursday, and is still ongoing,” he added.
NDRF, SDRF, and a squad of 75 army members are all involved in the operation, according to authorities. The event took place after a stepwell’s ceiling fell during a “hawan” held in honour of Ram Navami at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal Temple in the Patel Nagar neighbourhood of Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, declared that Rs 50,000 will go to the injured and Rs 5 lakh to the surviving family members of the deceased. The next of kin of the deceased will get a Rs 5 lakh rupee ex-gratia payment, while the injured will receive a Rs 50,000 rupee payment, Chouhan informed reporters.
