Maharashtra: Seven Dead, Several Injured in Rain-related Incident in Akola Temple

Akola: At least seven people were killed after an old tree fell on a tin shed of a temple in Paras village of Akola district in Maharashtra on Sunday evening. Another 30 more people have been injured in the incident. 

It rained heavily in Akola last evening and due to the  accompanying squally winds the huge neem tree fell on the tin shed of  Babuji Maharaj Mandir Sansthan, reports said. The people had gathered for a religious ceremony at the Paras village. 

“Nearly 40 people were present under the shed, out of which 36 were admitted in the hospital and four of them were brought dead," said Akola Collector Nima Arora to ANI. The COllector added that later the death toll increased to seven and one person was critically injured. 

Maharashtra Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed his sorrow over the loss of ‘some devotees’ in the incident. 

“It is painful to report that some devotees were killed when a tree fell on a tin shed when some people had gathered for a religious ceremony at Paras in Akola district. I pay my humble respects to them,” Fadnavis tweeted in Marathi. 

Fadnavis also wrote that some of the injured have been admitted to District General Hospital while people with minor injuries are being treated at Balapur. He further said the chief minister Eknath Shinde has decided to provide financial assistance to the families of the deceased from the state government and the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. 

अकोला जिल्ह्यातील पारस येथे एका धार्मिक समारंभासाठी काही लोक एकत्र आले असता, टिनाच्या शेडवर झाड कोसळून झालेल्या दुर्घटनेत काही भाविकांचा मृत्यू झाल्याचे वृत्त वेदनादायी आहे.
मी त्यांना विनम्र श्रद्धांजली अर्पण करतो.
जिल्हाधिकारी आणि पोलिस अधीक्षक यांनी तातडीने घटनास्थळी भेट दिली…

— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) April 9, 2023

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(With ANI inputs)