7 killed in temple wall collapse in Andhra, CM announces Rs 25 lakh ex gratia to kin of deceased
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Seven people were killed when a rain-soaked wall collapsed at the Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple in Simhachalam, here, in the early hours of Wednesday, the government said.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed deep sorrow and said he had spoken to the Collector and SP and asked treatment be provided to the injured.
"Deeply saddened by the death of seven devotees at Simhachalam.... my condolences to the families. I'm closely monitoring the situation and have ordered continuous review and support for victims," said Naidu in a post on 'X'.
According to government sources only one person sustained injuries apart from those killed.
The Chief Minister, who reviewed the situation via teleconference, announced an ex gratia of Rs 25 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 3 lakh each to the injured, an official release said adding an outsourcing job in temples under the Endowments Department will be provided to a family member of each victim.
He also ordered an inquiry into the incident by a three-member committee.
Reacting to the incident Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a post on X said “Deeply saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of a wall in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon.”
PM Modi also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured.
Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy also condoled the deaths.
State Home Minister V Anitha said preliminary reports indicated that the wall collapse at the temple was triggered by soil loosening due to heavy rains in the area.
The annual Chandanotsavam at Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Simhachalam witnessed both grandeur and grief on Wednesday, as thousands gathered to witness the Nijaroopa darshanam of the Lord.
The wall collapsed on the Rs 300 ticket queue line near the shopping complex on the ghat road from Simhagiri Bus Stand at around 3 am. Heavy overnight rains and strong winds are suspected to have loosened the soil, causing the structure to fall, Anitha told reporters.
Anitha, present at the temple during the incident, visited the site immediately.
“We were all drenched in rain. As I came out of the temple, I was informed about the incident. The injured were rushed to hospital,” she said, emphasizing that there was no negligence in the rescue response.
An official from the temple said that the cause appears to be structural failure triggered by rains, but a detailed probe is underway.
Endowments Minister Ramanarayana Reddy called the tragedy unfortunate and announced stronger safety protocols.
Rescue operations are underway, with teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and state authorities pressed into service.
According to State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel, eight devotees were trapped under the debris, and seven bodies—three women and four men—were extricated during the rescue operation.
Former CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed shock and urged for best medical support to the injured and compensation to the victims' families.
The injured have been shifted to a hospital, officials added.
Earlier this year, six devotees waiting to collect tokens for Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam at Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple on Tirumala Hills, were killed in a stampede in Tirupati.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
