SAGAR: Nine children were killed and two others injured after a wall of a dilapidated house collapsed in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district on Sunday, a senior official said.
The incident occurred between 8.30 am and 9 am near the campus of a temple during a religious programme in Shahpur village under the Rehli assembly seat, as per officials.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has suspended the chief municipal officer (CMO) of Shahpur Nagar Panchayat and a sub-engineer.
He also directed civil bodies across the state to identify the dilapidated buildings and take action.
Nine children, aged 10 to 15 years, were killed and two injured in the wall collapse incident at a religious programme in Shahpur, Sagar Divisional Commissioner Virendra Singh Rawat told PTI over the phone.
Senior officials, including the district collector, have reached the spot, he said.
The chief minister expressed grief over the incident and announced assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased.
A programme of "Parthiv Shivling Nirman" (making Shivling out of clay) was going on under a tent near the dilapidated house, and a wall collapsed and fell on the tent, local BJP MLA and former minister Gopal Bhargava told reporters.
The children got crushed under the tent and debris, he said, adding that several of the deceased were the only child of their parents.
District Collector Deepak Arya said the children were sitting under a tent near a temple, and the house wall collapsed due to rain.
Two children died on the spot, while seven others succumbed on the way to the hospital or on reaching the medical facility, he said.
Arya said two other children were injured and undergoing treatment at the district hospital. They were out of danger, he added.
According to officials, the deceased were identified as Dhruv Yadav (12), Nitesh Patel (13), Ashutosh Prajapati (15), Prince Sahu (12), Parv Vishwakarma (10), Divyansh Sahu (12), Dev Sahu (12), Vansh Lodhi (10) and Hemant (10).
In a post on 'X', the chief minister said, "I am saddened to hear the news of 9 innocent children dying after the collapse of the wall of a dilapidated house due to heavy rains in Shahpur of Sagar district. I have directed the district administration to provide proper treatment to the injured children."
He also prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured children.
"The families of the deceased children will receive financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each by the government," Yadav said.
In another post, the chief minister said the Shahpur Nagar Panchayat had issued notices identifying dilapidated houses.
But it did not inform the local administration.
The in-charge chief municipal officer and a sub-engineer of the nagar panchayat, found guilty of negligence, were suspended with immediate effect, he said.
Yadav said all administrative officers were directed to identify dilapidated buildings across the state and take legal action so that such incidents don't recur.
Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari also expressed grief over the incident.
Former chief minister and Congress leader Kamal Nath cited that this was the second instance of children dying in a wall collapse, as four children lost their lives in a similar incident in Rewa on Saturday.
In light of the heavy rainfall in the state, the administration needs to identify weak buildings and walls to prevent such incidents, he said.
.jpg?w=480&auto=format%2Ccompress)