The death toll from a Hindu temple floor collapse in India rose to 35 on Friday (March 31st), but rescue operations are still underway to locate a missing person, a local official told Reuters. Agence France-Presse (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 occurred in the city of Indore, in the state of Madhya Pradesh (center).
Women, children and an 18-month-old baby lay on the floor of the grated temple which buckled before giving way, plunging them to the bottom of the 7.50 meter deep shaft, 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 (2,230 euros) in compensation, Mr Modi's office said.
Frequent accidents
An investigation has been opened, Narottam Mishra, the interior minister of the state of Madhya Pradesh, confirmed to the press.
Temples across India were overflowing with worshipers on the Rama 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 had died following a crowd movement on a bridge near a temple in the state of Madhya Pradesh. 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 at a hilltop temple in the northern Indian city of Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
