Death toll in Indore temple tragedy rises to 35, search on for one missing person
Indore (PTI): The death toll in the Indore temple stepwell roof collapse incident rose to 35 on Friday and a search operation is currently underway to trace one missing person, an official said.
The slab constructed on top of an ancient 'bawdi' or stepwell collapsed during a 'havan' programme held on the occasion of Ram Navami at the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple in the city on Thursday, plunging several devotees into the water reservoir below. The temple located in Patel Nagar, where the tragedy took place, had been constructed after covering the square-shaped stepwell of around 20 ft x 20 ft size about four decades ago.
"Our search operation, being carried out with the help of Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), is nearing completion. So far, 35 bodies have been recovered from the well," Indore District Magistrate Dr Ilayaraja T told reporters from the site of the incident.
The bodies of all persons, except one, whose names were mentioned in the list of missing persons, have been recovered so far, he said.
There is a lot of silt in the well and it is being removed to trace the missing person, Illayaraja said.
Earlier, Indore Divisional Commissioner (Revenue) Pawan Kumar Sharma said that 16 people injured in the mishap have been admitted to a hospital, while two others were sent home after first aid.
Eyewitnesses said that after 11.30 pm on Thursday, the process of recovering bodies from the well and sending them to a hospital for post-mortem intensified.
A joint team of the Army and the NDRF descended into the well with the help of a crane and trolley to recover the bodies.
The rescue operation was initially hampered as the temple was built in a narrow space and a wall was broken to lower a pipe to pump out water from the well, officials said.
An eyewitness said that during the religious programme, there was a huge crowd of devotees at the temple and its floor caved in as it could not bear the load.
Local residents said that the temple was built by laying a slab over the ancient stepwell.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
