Six people were killed, and 18 others were injured after a stone pillar of an under-construction sabha mandap collapsed at the famous Yashwadi Hanuman Temple in Manwath taluka of Maharashtra's Parbhani district on Saturday.
According to information received, construction work on the sabha mandap was underway inside the temple premises. As Saturday witnessed a heavy influx of devotees, a stone pillar of the under-construction structure suddenly collapsed, trapping several devotees beneath the debris.
The incident triggered panic at the temple complex as devotees rushed to safety. District administration officials, police personnel and rescue teams reached the spot immediately after receiving information about the collapse and launched relief and rescue operations.
Rescue teams worked for several hours to clear the debris and pull out those trapped underneath. According to the administration, the rescue operation was completed between 6 pm and 7 pm on Saturday.
The injured were shifted to hospitals in Parbhani, Nanded and RP Hospital for treatment. The administration has arranged medical care for all those injured in the accident.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the tragedy. In a post shared by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), he said, "The loss of lives due to the collapse of a wall in Parbhani, Maharashtra, is deeply saddening. My thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones in this mishap. May the injured recover at the earliest."
The deceased have been identified as Santosh Sarjerao Gadde of Gadde Pangra in Mantha taluka, Akash Surduse of Parbhani, Munesh Rambilas Agrawal (26) of Jintur in Parbhani district, and Suraj Babasaheb Popatkar (20) of Itoli in Manwath taluka, Parbhani district. One deceased person, aged around 45 years, has not yet been identified. Details of the sixth victim were not immediately available.
The injured have been identified as Dadarao Ranoji Bhange, Ramkrishna Nagorao Badade, Parmeshwar Pundlik Raut, Saurabh Gajanan Kothalkar, Keshav Giri, Pravin Raghunath Halge, Ganesh Ekar, Omkar Maruti Koparkar, Rameshwar Ramkishan Gonde, Rama Venkatrao Hoge, Aniket Santosh Gadde, Hanumant Lipne, Pravin Prakash Rajbinde, Narayan Daulat Kharat, Rishikesh Kopartkar, Shrikrishna Rustum Bhosale (10), Abhishek Krishna Waghmare (19) and Bharat Ramchandra Kalasaitkar (20).
Source: India Today