Eight people died in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on Thursday after inhaling toxic gas while cleaning a nearly 150-year-old well.
They were trying to clean the well at Kondawat village in Khandwa district for an idol immersion ritual ahead of Gangaur, a Hindu festival celebrating the deity Gauri on 4 April.
A labourer reportedly went down the well to remove the accumulated sludge but inhaled toxic fumes, fell unconscious and sank into the swampy residue at the bottom. He was identified by police by his first name Arjun.
The well had not been in use for quite some time, local authorities told the media.
Seven men who were helping Arjun with the clean-up attempted to rescue him, but they too succumbed to the toxic fumes and drowned, police said.
“In an attempt to save him, seven others entered the well one after another, only to succumb to the same poisonous gas,” a district official was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
The news agency IANS, however, reported that three men had gone down initially and five entered later to rescue them.
The bodies were retrieved after a four-hour rescue operation, launched at around 4.00pm local time on Thursday by police and state disaster response force. Arjun’s body was the last to be pulled out.
#WATCH | Madhya Pradesh | Khandwa Collector Rishav Gupta says, "...During the festival of Gangaur Mata, some people went inside a well to clean it and the incident happened due to the formation of gas inside the well as the well was not being used for a long time… Around eight… pic.twitter.com/8R3tzGinrD
— ANI (@ANI) April 4, 2025
“Bodies have been recovered. As per the preliminary information, the immersion of Gangaur Mata is scheduled to take place on 4 April. Traditionally, it was done in this well, located in the middle of the village,” Manoj Kumar Rai, a senior police officer in Khandwa, said.
The rescue operation began after villagers realised the men had not emerged from the well by evening. A 15-member state disaster response team, equipped with ropes and nets, arrived at the site along with police and local administration officials.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav announced ex-gratia relief of Rs 400,000 (£3,600) for each of the victim’s families and promised a thorough investigation.
The well, situated near a drain carrying the village’s wastewater, had reportedly become swampy due to accumulated filth. Authorities believe toxic gas formed from the decomposition of waste, causing Arjun to suffocate when he entered to clean it. Those who attempted to rescue him met the same fate.
Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh: A tragic accident occurred during the Gangaur festival in Khandwa district, where eight villagers drowned in a well while cleaning it for the immersion ritual. So far, seven bodies have been recovered pic.twitter.com/PFHlbTv3Np
— IANS (@ians_india) April 3, 2025
Devastated villagers have decided to seal the well.
The district administration has launched an inquiry.
Several videos and photos from the site showed crowds gathered around the well and ambulances in the background. Visibly aggrieved villagers were seen milling around the well.
The men’s remains were sent to a nearby hospital for postmortem analysis.
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