Underconstruction Temple Collapse In Parbhani Kills 5 Injures 18

Five devotees were killed and 18 others injured after a portion of an under-construction Hanuman temple collapsed in Yashwadi village of Parbhani district’s Manwat taluka on Saturday afternoon. The village is located 190 kilometers from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Around 25,000 devotees had gathered at the temple for darshan on Saturday, considered an auspicious day to worship Lord Hanuman. After the prayers, as the sacred offering (prasad) was being distributed to the devotees at around 3pm, a portion of the temple which was under construction collapsed, trapping several people under the debris.

The deceased have been identified as Santosh Gadade from Pangara, Akash Surdose from Gangakhed Road in Parbhani, Numesh Agrawal from Jintur, Suraj Kopratkar from Itali, and Shrikrushna Balbhim Gaware from Wadwani, in Beed district.

The temple is a prominent religious site in the region and attracts a large number of devotees every Saturday. Authorities have initiated an inquiry to ascertain the cause of the collapse.

Guardian minister of Parbhani, Meghna Sakore-Bordikar said, “The Hanuman temple at Yashwadi is very famous and attracts over 50,000 devotees every Saturday. Construction work has been underway for a year and a portion of the structure collapsed today. The district administration, police and emergency services immediately rushed to the spot and rescued several people.”

MLA Rajesh Vitekar said Rajasthani red stone was being used for the construction of the sabhamandap – the area around the sanctum sanctorum – which was nearly complete. “The construction work had been halted for a few days due to some reason. The ropes used during construction may have weakened, leading to the sudden collapse,” he said.

The injured were shifted to R P Medical College and some of them admitted to the ICU of Parbhani government hospital, Vitekar said.

District collector Sanjaysingh Chavan visited the accident site and reviewed the rescue operations. Teams from the revenue department, police, health department and disaster management department were deployed for relief work while efforts were on to rescue those trapped under the debris. “I have instructed that a structural audit of the temple be conducted immediately, and further necessary action will be taken based on the findings,” he said.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed grief over the incident and announced financial assistance of ₹5 lakh each for the families of the deceased. He said the injured were undergoing treatment and directed officials to ensure all necessary assistance to the victims and their families.

Expressing solidarity with the family members of the deceased, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office posted on X: “The loss of lives due to the collapse of a wall in Parbhani, Maharashtra, is deeply saddening. My thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones in this mishap. May the injured recover at the earliest.”