6 killed as wall collapses, tin sheets fly off during storm at Maharashtra's Sangli temple

KOLHAPUR: Six people, including a 14-year-old boy, were killed and 13 others injured after an unfinished wall collapsed and tin sheets were blown away during strong winds and rain at Margubai temple, in Motewadi village of Jat tehsil in Sangli district, on Tuesday evening.

The police identified the deceased as Mangal Mote (45), Kondiba Gejage, Arun Gejage, Sonu Gejage (14), Sanjana Choudhary, and Shankar Lokhande (70). Mote was a resident of Pandojari and Lokhande of Darbidchi in Jat tehsil. The rest were from Vijayapura district in neighbouring Karnataka.

The police said the accident occurred around 5pm when gusty winds, accompanied by rain, lashed the area. Hundreds of devotees, who had gathered at the temple as part of a weekly ritual, took shelter under two sheds. On Tuesdays, hundreds of devotees from Jat and nearby Karnataka visit the temple of the local deity.

Sachin Thorbole, sub-divisional police officer of Jat division, told TOI, "During the storm, the wall made of ‘chira' bricks in one shed collapsed, killing some devotees trapped beneath it. In another shed, tin sheets were ripped off by high-speed winds and they struck people in their path."

Officials said the temple is located around 30km from Jat town in a relatively remote area, resulting in a delay in authorities receiving information about the incident.

District authorities said there had been a weather alert for heavy rain and gusty winds of up to 40 kmph. Local residents said the wall that collapsed was made of ‘chira' bricks stacked without mortar, making it vulnerable under severe weather conditions. The chira bricks, made from the laterite rocks in the ghat areas of Konkan, are heavier than those baked in kilns.