- Saturday, November 23, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
AT least five bodies were recovered while many were feared trapped after a concrete wall around a well in a locality in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh caved in on Thursday (15) evening. More than 15 people had been rescued while 13 more were found to be missing when the last reports came. The incident happened in Ganj Basoda area in Vidisha district of the state.
Officials said the tragedy happened when a young boy fell into the well around 6 pm local time. At this, some local people climbed down into the well to bring him out and others were standing on the wall around the water body. It was then when the wall crumbled, throwing those who were standing on it into the water. Many got trapped under the rubble, the officials feared. Around 11 pm, some three to four hours after the people fell into the well, a tractor was engaged in rescuing them, along with four policemen. Even that skidded into the well, according to eyewitnesses.
State minister Vishwas Sarang, who is also the minister-in-charge for Vidisha district, rushed to the spot late on Thursday following chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s direction. He told news agency ANI on Friday (16) that the rescue operation was still on.
“Operation continues at Ganjbasoda, Vidisha. 19 people rescued. NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) & SDRF (State Disaster Rescue Force) are also here. The land here is prone to subsidence. It’s happening again & again. It’ll be difficult to say the exact toll until the operation concludes,” he said.
Chouhan ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident and his government announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh ($6,700) for the kin of those who died in the incident. The kin of those who were injured were to be given Rs 50,000 ($670). The government also announced free medical treatment for the injured.
