9 children killed as wall collapses during religious event in India

At least nine children were killed and several others injured Sunday after a wall collapsed during a Hindu religious event in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, reported Xinhua, quoting police.

The wall collapsed in Shahpur village of Sagar district, about 205 km northeast of Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh.

"Today in a tragic incident near the Hardaul Baba temple in Shahpur here, nine children aged between 10-15 years were killed and several others injured in a wall collapse. The people had gathered in the temple for a religious ceremony when the wall of a house next to the temple collapsed over them," a police official said. "The 50-year-old old house was run down by heavy rain in the ongoing monsoon season."

Immediately after the incident, authorities rushed disaster response force personnel and police teams to the spot to carry out rescue work and pull bodies from beneath the debris.

The injured children have been sent to the hospital.

On Saturday, four children were killed in a wall collapse incident in the state's Rewa district. The children, in the age group of five to seven years, were returning from school when the wall collapsed on them. The owners of the house, the wall of which collapsed, have been arrested.