Three bodies have been recovered from the well in which several people fell while trying to rescue a teenager, who had fallen into it the previous night in Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said on Friday.
Two bodies were retrieved late last night, while another one was recovered this morning, it said.
A police official said that efforts were on to pull out more people feared trapped under the rubble of the well’s wall that had suddenly caved in last night, throwing people standing on it into the water.
The incident had taken place at Lal Patar village in Ganj Basoda, about 50 kms from the district headquarters.
In a message to media, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “I am in touch with the authorities at the spot and monitoring the rescue operation.” He announced that the families of the deceased will be given financial assistance of ₹5 lakh each, while the injured will be provided ₹50,000 each and free medical treatment.
More than 15 people were rescued and rushed to the hospital, police officer Bharat Bhusan Sharma, who is at the spot, said.
"Efforts are on to pull out more people trapped under the rubble," he added.
According to locals, the well is around 50 feet deep with a water level of about 20 feet.
The teenager fell into the well on Thursday night and some people climbed down to rescue while others were standing on the parapet wall around it to help them. However, the wall suddenly crashed, throwing those standing on it into the water, the police official said.
Around 11 p.m., a tractor engaged in the rescue operation, along with four policemen, skidded into the well when the area around it caved in, eyewitnesses said.