Over 20 people fall into stepwell at Indore temple, 10 rescued

INDORE: More than 20 people, including women and children are feared trapped, following the collapse of the roof of a stepwell at a temple in Madhya Pradesh's Indore on Thursday.

The incident took place during Ram Navami celebrations at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal Temple in the Patel Nagar area. Police and locals were seen trying to rescue the devotees trapped inside the well.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to state that he has spoken to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on the mishap.

"Extremely pained by the mishap in Indore. Spoke to CM @ChouhanShivraj Ji and took an update on the situation. The State Government is spearheading rescue and relief work at a quick pace. My prayers with all those affected and their families," PM Modi said.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that he has taken cognizance of the incident and termed the incident "unfortunate". He said that 10 people have been rescued so far while nine of them continue to remain trapped inside the stepwell.

"It's an unfortunate incident. A rescue operation is underway. 10 people were rescued safely while nine are still trapped and will be rescued. Efforts are underway to rescue other people", said the chief minister according to a statement from his office.

The chief minister's office had in a statement earlier said the eight people were evacuated and rushed to the the hospital while local administration including police, district administration, SDRF were involved in rescue operation.

"Several ambulances were also deployed at the site", it said "Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has taken cognizance of the incident and discussed it with Indore's Collector and police Commissioner over phone and instructed to speed up the rescue operation.

Apart from that Chief Minister's Office is also in constant touch with the Indore district administration," the statement read The incident occurred at around 12 PM when devotees were offering prayers during a hawan at the temple on the occasion of Ram Navami.