Army forces recovered 22 more victims from Indore temple the murky depths during a nightlong operation, bringing the death toll to 36. The office holders of the temple trust were also arrested for culpable homicide while two city officials were suspended.
Twenty-one of those killed were women. There were three children among the dead, including a one and-a-half-year-old boy whose parents could only watch in horror as he plunged into the well just inches away from them. His body was among the last to be found as the dead were stacked on top of each other in the 50-foot-deep well.
“The well was shaped like a bucket - it was wide at the top but only 10x10 feet at the bottom, because of which people were stuck on top of each other and trapped under the debris,” said NDRF head constable Chandan Mishra, a deep diver who spent 20 relentless hours on the rescue op. After a long pause, he said: “The hardest part was to retrieve the bodies of the children.”
At the funeral of the youngest victim, 1. 5-year old Hitansh, hundreds wept as his father carried his body in a little bundle. Family members and neighbours followed clutching his toys and tricycle.
A Rs 200,000 assistance announced by PM Modi for families of Indore Temple floor collapse victims anguished by the incident.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan met the bereaved families and those in hospital and assured them all help from the government. He visited the accident site and ordered a statewide survey of stepwells to identify those that have been covered and illegal constructions built on them, as in the Beleshwar Mahadev Jhulelal temple. All borewells will also be inspected so that the open ones can be plugged.