Madhya Pradesh well collapse: 11 bodies fished out; Search operation to continue for 2 more days

Bhopal, July 17: As many as eleven bodies were pulled out of the collapsed well in Madhya Pradesh's Vidisha on Friday. The dead include a father and son, who were among those who had rushed to rescue a 13-year-old boy from the well, which caved in under their weight on Thursday night.

The body of the teenager, Ravi Ahirwar, was among the last to be found. "After 24 hours, the rescue operation is over, but we will barricade it and continue searching for two more days," CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan tweeted around 11 pm on Friday.

Earlier, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan extended his condolences over the loss of lives in the accident and said rescue work is still underway.

"Have received information that two people have lost their lives in Ganjbasoda. Their bodies have been recovered. I pay homage to those who lost their lives in the accident and pray to God to give peace to the departed souls. The rescue work is still on and I am continuously monitoring the situation," Chouhan tweeted.

The dead and the injured were among the nearly 40 people, who gathered to watch rescuers trying to pull out the girl, who fell into the well on Thursday evening while playing.

Bhopal division's additional director general of police Sai Manohar said as people were trying to rescue her the well's boundary wall caved in and they fell into the well.

MP's medical education minister Vishvas Kailash Sarang, who was sent by Chouhan to Ganjbasoda, said shortly before midnight that about 23 people were rescued and 13 have been admitted to hospital.

Sarang, the guardian minister of Vidisha district 50 km from the state capital of Bhopal, said he has ordered a high-level probe into the accident.

A police officer said that the girl was still in the well and that it was not clear if she was also injured when the well's boundary wall collapsed.