1 dead, 8 injured as portion of temple collapses in Agra

One person died and eight others were injured after a portion of a Shiva temple collapsed on Monday in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra district. The roof of the temple verandah collapsed while 'prasad' were being distributed to locals and 'kanwariyas'.

According to the locals, the structure was in a dilapidated condition and the roof of the temple's Verandah collapsed due to dampness that had seeped into the building during the incessant rains on Saturday.

The locals said that the number of devotees thronging to the temple was also high on Monday.

Later, speaking to the media on the accident, Agra's Deputy Commissioner of Police (City) Suraj Kumar Rai said that a police team from Agra's Shahganj police station reached the spot after the accident, rescued the trapped people and rushed them to the hospital.

In the accident, nine people trapped in the rubble were rescued and sent to a city hospital. Later, one of the rescued people, identified as 17-year-old Jyoti, succumbed to her injuries, Deputy Commissioner of Police (City) Suraj Kumar Rai added.

An eyewitness recalled the moment when the portion of the temple collapsed. "I escaped because I had come out of the temple a few minutes before the incident. All of us rushed inside when we heard the screams of the people trapped in the debris and began to pull them out," Pawan Kumar was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.