At least 13 wedding guests, including an infant, fall into well and die in India
New Delhi, India — At least 13 people died after falling into a well at a wedding in northern India Wednesday night, authorities said.
They were sitting on a concrete slab that covered an old village well when it collapsed under their weight, senior police officer Akhil Kumar told the news agency ANI.
Seven women and six girls — including the infant — lost their lives. At least two other people who also fell in were treated at a hospital in the Kushinagar district in state of Uttar Pradesh, where the ceremony was being held.
Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh | Visuals from the spot where 13 women lost their lives during a wedding event last night
— ANI (@ANI) February 17, 2022
The incident happened during a wedding program wherein some people were sitting on a slab of a well & due to heavy load,the slab broke, police official said pic.twitter.com/LmPDQh3lOo
All were guests at a pre-wedding Haldi ceremony, an Indian tradition in which turmeric paste is put on the faces, and sometimes the bodies of the bride and groom.
Footage from a hospital showed relatives of the victims, still dressed in wedding dresses, mourning.
Indian Prime minister Narendra Modi described the incident as "heart-wrenching" on Twitter.
State officials announced compensation of 400,000 Indian rupees ($5,330) for the families of the dead. Modi announced a separate compensation of 200,000 Indian rupees ($2,665) for the families of the dead and 50,000 rupees ($666) for the injured.
Indian weddings are usually grand ceremonies of feasts, song and dance attended by hundreds of guests with celebrations lasting for days.