AKOLA: Seven persons were killed and 23 others injured when a tree fell on a tin shed under which people were standing in a temple premises after heavy wind and rains in Maharashtra's Akola district, local administration said on Monday.
The incident took place at around 7.30 pm on Sunday at Babuji Maharaj temple located in Paras village under Balapur taluka when the people had gathered for the 'maha aarti', Akola Collector Nima Arora said.
State Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed grief over the incident and said the government will provide a compensation to the families of the deceased.
The district authorities said families of each of the deceased will be given a compensation of Rs 4 lakh and the injured persons will be given monetary assistance as per government rules.
Due to the heavy wind and rains, a 100-year-old tree fell on a tin shed under which around 40 people were standing, the district administration said.
Five men and two women were killed and 23 others received injuries.
Five of them were seriously injured, it said in a release.
After receiving information, police and district disaster management authorities rushed the spot and started the rescue operation, an official said.
The injured persons were rushed to the Akola general hospital, the district administration said.
The two women who died in the incident were aged 50 and 55 and hailed from Jalgaon and Buldhana. Out of the five deceased men, two aged 55 and one 35 years old were residents of Akola. The two other men were yet to be identified, the release said.
Deputy CM Fadnavis in a tweet expressed grief over the incident.
He said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has decided to give compensation to the families of the deceased from the government's side and the CM's Relief Fund.