Tamil Nadu: 2 killed, several injured as temple chariot collapses on devotees in Dharmapuri

Chief Minister M K Stalin expressed his grief at the incident. In a statement, he said he is deeply saddened by the passing of Manoharan (57) and Saravanan (50) and said he has ordered the best treatment to the injured persons at the Dharmapuri hospital.

By: Express Web Desk

Chennai | June 14, 2022 11:19 AM IST

3 min read

According to the police, the incident took place on Monday evening near a temple at Madhehalli in Papparapatti. (Express Photo)

Two people died and several others were injured after a temple chariot collapsed in Tamil Nadu’s Dharmapuri district Monday evening, trapping devotees underneath it. A similar accident in Thanjavur in April had claimed the lives of 11 people.

According to the police, the incident took place on Monday evening near a temple at Madhehalli in Papparapatti. Around 6.30 pm, when the 30-feet chariot of the Kaliamman temple was being taken around the streets as part of the Vaikasi festival, it collapsed.

https://twitter.com/koushiktweets/status/1536372693762985984 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

A video of the incident shared widely on social media showed the chariot collapsing and people screaming and running to rescue those who were trapped.

Speaking to indianexpress.com, Dharmapuri Superintendent of Police C Kalaiselvan said two men who were trapped under the wheels of the chariot died and four others were injured and were taken to the Dharmapuri Government Medical College Hospital. He said they have launched an enquiry into the incident.

Dharmapuri MP Dr S Senthilkumar and district officials visited the injured at the hospital. AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam released a statement condoling the incident and said the government needs to take steps to ensure that the chariot is in a good condition before allowing it to be part of a procession.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister M K Stalin expressed his grief at the incident. In a statement, he said he is deeply saddened by the passing of Manoharan (57) and Saravanan (50) and said he has ordered the best treatment to the injured persons at the Dharmapuri hospital.

Story continues below this ad

https://twitter.com/DrSenthil_MDRD/status/1536387468932489219 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

He announced ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the family of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each for the injured persons from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund.

In April this year, a similar temple chariot accident in Tami Nadu’s Thanjavur had claimed the lives of 11 people after an overhead high tension voltage cable came in contact with a temple chariot during a procession.

From the homepage