5 women, 8 girls died after falling in well during wedding ceremony in UP:

UP: Five women and eight girls died after falling into a well while attending a wedding ceremony in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar district Wednesday night, police said.

They were among 21 women and girls who were standing on a cement slab over the well, which fallen down due to over weight.

The other eight persons have sustained injuries but are now stable, police said.

The youngest of the deceased people is a one-year-old girl, Pari. Her mother and elder sister were injured, said a police officer.

Immediately after the incident at Naurangiya village, around 18 km from Kushinagar district headquarters, two local youths entered the 20-foot well using ropes and pulled out the victims. The police, too, arrived on the spot to help with the rescue.

All 13 deceased persons were declared dead on arrival at the hospital. Local residents alleged that the ambulance arrived late.

Kushinagar Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Devi



Dayal Verma said an inquiry has been ordered into the matter.

The inquiry team will verify the location of the ambulance using the GPS installed in the vehicle, said an officer.

The state government announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the deceased persons, said the ADM.

Station House Officer, Nibua Naurangiya, Girijesh Upadhyay said the incident took place during the ‘haldi’ ritual near a local resident’s house. Several women and girls from the village were attending the ceremony.

Hearing their cries for help, the male members of the village rushed to the spot and called the police.

On Thursday, the bodies of the victims were handed over to their families after an autopsy. The report is still awaited. Among the adult victims, three were aged between 18 and 25 and two were aged above 35.

Leaders of different political parties visited the village and assured the residents of help.