Eight devotees were killed and four others injured after a wall adjacent to a queue line collapsed at the Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple at Simhachalam in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Wednesday. The incident occurred during the annual Chandanotsavam festival when devotees had thronged the hilltop shrine for a glimpse of the deity’s ‘Nijaroopa’ or true form.
According to district authorities, the mishap occurred around 2.30 a.m. while hundreds of devotees queued up for the rare darshan, which draws thousands to the temple every year.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and local administration were promptly deployed to conduct rescue operations.
Andhra Pradesh Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha, who visited the site soon after the incident, attributed the collapse to soil loosening due to heavy overnight rain.
“They were standing in the queue line for special darshan after paying ₹300 per ticket. The wall is adjacent to a shopping complex on the way from Simhagiri Bus Stand— suddenly gave way and collapsed due to loosening of soil because of heavy rains in the area,” Ms Anitha told reporters at the scene.
District Collector A Mallikarjuna and Commissioner of Police Shankha Brata Bagchi were also present to oversee rescue efforts. Visakhapatnam Collector Harendhira Prasad confirmed that the deceased included three women. “The bodies of the victims and injured were shifted to King George Hospital, Visakhapatnam,” Prasad said.
President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday condoled the loss of lives in the incident and wished for the early recovery of those injured.
Reacting to the incident Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a post on X said “Deeply saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of a wall in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon.” PM Modi also announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh from PMNRF to the next of kin of each deceased and ₹50,000 to the injured.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed deep sorrow and said he had spoken to the Collector and SP and asked treatment be provided to the injured.
"Deeply saddened by the death of seven devotees at Simhachalam.... my condolences to the families. I'm closely monitoring the situation and have ordered continuous review and support for victims," said Naidu in a post on 'X'.
According to government sources only one person sustained injuries apart from those killed.
The Chief Minister, who reviewed the situation via teleconference, announced an ex gratia of ₹25 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and ₹3 lakh each to the injured, an official release said adding an outsourcing job in temples under the Endowments Department will be provided to a family member of each victim.
He also ordered an inquiry into the incident by a three-member committee.
The Chandanotsavam festival marks the annual unveiling of the temple deity in his ‘Nijaroopa’, without the thick layer of sandalwood paste that ordinarily covers the idol. The rituals commenced at 1 am with Suprabhata Seva, following which temple priests used special silver scrapers to remove the paste.
The hereditary trustee of the temple, Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju, along with his family, was granted the first darshan of the deity. Minister for Revenue Anagani Satya Prasad later presented traditional silk garments to the deity on behalf of the state government.
Crowds had begun gathering well in advance for the sacred sight, and the incident cast a pall over the festivities, which otherwise hold deep religious significance for devotees across the state.
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