At least 17 people were injured, five of them critically, when the tin roof of a grain market in Sriganganagar’s Padampur town came crashing down during a tractor racing contest on Sunday evening, said a district official.
Padampur’s sub-divisional officer (SDO) Sandeep Kumar said out of the 17 people injured in the mishap, five were referred to Ganganagar’s district hospital and four were admitted to Padampur community health centre. Others were sent home after first aid, Kumar said.
The SDO said the contest was being organized at dhaan mandi (rice market) by tractor companies and the organizers had not taken permission from the district administration for it.
Videos of the mishap began circulating on social media soon after the accident. In the video, onlookers who were watching the show from the room are seen crashing down like a pack of cards.
Chief minister Vasundhara Raje tweeted her condolence after hearing about the accident. “I am disturbed after hearing about this mishap. I pray for peace to the departed souls and speedy recovery of the injured. I extend my condolences to the grief-stricken families,” she tweeted.
The CM’s tweet came after reports that seven people were killed in the accident. However, district administration said there were no casualties. “No one has died in the accident,” said the additional district magistrate Nakhtadan Barhat. District’s chief medical and health officer Dr Naresh Bansal also denied reports about casualties.
{{/usCountry}}The CM’s tweet came after reports that seven people were killed in the accident. However, district administration said there were no casualties. “No one has died in the accident,” said the additional district magistrate Nakhtadan Barhat. District’s chief medical and health officer Dr Naresh Bansal also denied reports about casualties.
{{/usCountry}}In a similar incident last year, at least 25 people, including five children, were killed when the boundary wall of a marriage home collapsed amid a heavy storm during a wedding ceremony in Bharatpur. The incident happened when people were eating food in the open near the boundary wall.