BHOPAL: Four bodies were recovered from Ganjbasoda area in Vidisha where at least 25-30 people fell into a well on Thursday night to rescue a 16-year-old boy.
NDRF and SDRF teams had rescued 20 people by midnight and sent them to hospital, but it was still not known how many others were trapped and if any had died. Five of the survivors are hospitalized. The well is 40-ft deep. At least five persons are said to be missing.
Rescue ops will continue through the night. Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has ordered a high-level inquiry.
The incident happened in Lal Patthar area, about 100km from Bhopal. It began with a crowd rushing to the well to rescue a 16-year-old boy, Sandeep Parihar, who had fallen in while trying to draw water, sarpanch Amar Singh Kushwah told police. As word spread, more and more people flocked to the location. At some point, it is estimated, there were around 50 people around the well. A concrete slab that rings the well couldn’t take their weight and collapsed around 9pm, dragging several of them in, said police. The inside wall of the well caved in too. Panic ensued and locals tried to rescue the victims on their own, but darkness and the depth of the well hampered them.
An SOS went out to police.CM Chouhan, who was in the district for ‘kanyadan’ of three adopted girls, asked the IG, SP, commissioner, collector and minister-in-charge Vishwas Sarang to rush to the site and monitor rescue operations. “I am in constant touch with them. SDRF teams have been sent fully equipped,” he tweeted.
However, darkness made things hard for the rescuers, who often had to put their lives at risk. An inspector and a home guard also fell into the well during the operations, but were saved.
DGP Vivek Johri said the exact number of people who might have fallen into the well isn’t clear yet. Rescuers were trying to drain the well in the hope of finding survivors.
CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each for kin of the deceased and compensation of Rs 50,000 each to the injured. The injured will also be provided free medical treatment.
(With inputs from agencies)
