Bhopal, Apr 3: Eight persons died in Kondavat village of Chhaigaon Makhan police station area of Khandwa district – around 250 km from here – in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday evening. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to next of kin to the deceased.

The villagers had gathered for the sacred ritual of “Gangaur” idol immersion, a tradition of cultural and spiritual practices in rural areas. The well, chosen for the immersion of the "Gangaur" idol, became the site of an unimaginable calamity.

It began with a team of four persons led by one Arjun, a villager who volunteered to clean the government owned well in preparation for the ritual. As they descended into the 20-25 feet deep well, they trapped within the confined space unaware of the lurking danger – probably a poisonous gas, which rendered them unconscious.

Unable to escape, they drowned in the swampy sludge that had accumulated at the bottom of the well.

"Seeing their plight two more villagers quickly descended into the well, armed with a rope to rescue them. However, they encountered debris—a common sight in village wells — and as they attempted to clear it, they too succumbed to the 'toxic gas', falling unconscious one after the other. The situation escalated panic as two more villagers entered the well, determined to save their friends,” Vikram Dharve, in-charge of Chhaigaon police station, told IANS.

Tragically, the officer further said, they too fell victim of the same poisonous gas instantly. By the time the villagers raised an alarm, all eight individuals had perished.

The incident occurred between 4.30 and 5 p.m.

The police officer further explained that the primary investigation revealed the villagers had entered the well to clean it for the idol immersion on the occasion of Gangaur Puja.

Prima facie they all died of the presence of poisonous gas, likely trapped within the well, which proved fatal.

He, however, said that autopsies will reveal the exact reason. The bodies of all the victims have been sent for post-mortem at district hospital Khandwa. All of them have been identified as; Arjun (35), Rakesh (21) Vasudev (40) Gajanand (35) Mohan (48) Ajay (25) Sharan (40) Anil (28).

In a village well, presence of poisonous gas is surprising but reports said a waste water channel drains into the well that might have caused swamp in the well and poisonous gas might have formed.

(IANS)

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