A married couple, the wife’s mother and her aunt are among the seven devotees killed in a wall collapse during the annual festival at Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Simhachalam in Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Wednesday, April 30.
A techie couple from the Visakhapatnam district was among the victims of the tragic accident. Pilla Uma Maheswara Rao (30) and Pilla Sailaja (26) were employed with HCL and Infosys in Hyderabad, and were working remotely.
The couple, who married three years ago, hailed from Chandrapalem village in Madhurawada of Visakhapatnam.
Sailaja’s mother, Venkat Ratna (45), and aunt G Mahalakshmi (65) were also killed in the wall collapse.
The officials have confirmed seven deaths as the rescue operation was completed by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the police.
The deceased include four men and three women. Three devotees, who were injured, have been admitted to King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam.
The other deceased were identified as Durgaswamy Naidu (33) and K. Manikantha (28), both residents of East Godavari district, and Yedla Venkat Rao (45) of Visakhapatnam.
The incident occurred around 3.15 am when devotees were queued up to buy tickets for darshan during Chandanotsavam, an annual festival.
The devotees were waiting to buy Rs 300 tickets for ‘Nijaroopa darshanam’. During the annual festival, the thick sandalwood covering on the idol is removed. The rituals were to begin in the early hours of the day.
The NDRF personnel rushed to the spot and launched the rescue operation with the help of police and other personnel.
Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha, Visakhapatnam District Collector MN Harendhira Prasad, and Police Commissioner
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, IT Minister Nara Lokesh and other ministers expressed shock over the incident.
The Chief Minister ordered a probe by a three-member committee. He also announced Rs 25 lakh ex gratia each for the families of the deceased and Rs 3 lakh each to the injured.
(With IANS inputs)
