At least 13 women were killed and over a dozen injured after drowning in a well, late on Wednesday, during a ‘haldi’ ceremony in Uttar Pradesh’s Kushinagar. The incident took place when women and girls were standing by the railing around the well and the iron mesh gave way.Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences to the families of those who killed in the incident that took place in Nebua Naurangiya police circle. “The accident in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh is heart-wrenching. I express my deepest condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives in this. With this, I wish the injured a speedy recovery. The local administration is involved in all possible help,” he tweeted.UP | 13 women have died. The incident occurred last night at around 8.30 pm in the Nebua Naurangia, Kushinagar. The incident happened during a wedding program wherein some people were sitting on a slab of a well & due to heavy load,the slab broke: Akhil Kumar, ADG, Gorakhpur Zone pic.twitter.com/VaQ8Sskjl2— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) February 17, 2022According to reports, it was the wedding of one Amit Kushwaha, son of Parmeshwar Kushwaha, a resident of of School Tola of Naurangiya village. ‘Matikodva’ (a pre-marriage ceremony, part of ‘haldi’ ritual) was going on in front of the well, located about 100 meters from the house.The well had been closed with RCC (reinforced concrete) slab. During the ritual, a large number of women and girls stood on that slab when it suddenly broke and they fell into the well. The well is said to be very deep, and was full of water.The rescue operations were underway till past midnight with senior officers monitoring the situation on the ground. Around 22 women fell into the well. While some were rescued by villagers and the police, 13 others could not be saved in time. ADG Gorakhpur, Commissioner Gorakhpur, DM and SP were among the top officials at the spot. They also visited the district hospital and met the relatives of the deceased.The collector of Kushnigar and district magistrate S Rajalingam later announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased. PM Modi has also announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh each from PMNRF for the family members of the killed. Rs. 50,000 would be given to the injured.Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief at the loss of lives in the mishap. He has directed authorities to step up rescue and relief operations and provide treatment to the wounded. President Ram Nath Kovind and Union home minister Amit Shah also expressed their condolences.उत्तर प्रदेश के कुशीनगर में हुए हादसे में महिलाओं और बच्चों समेत कई लोगों की मृत्यु का दुःखद समाचार सुनकर व्यथित हूँ। इस दर्दनाक हादसे में अपने परिजनों को खोने वाले सभी शोक-संतप्त परिवारों के प्रति मेरी गहन संवेदनाएं। मैं घायलों के शीघ्र स्वस्थ होने की कामना करता हूँ।— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) February 17, 2022उत्तर प्रदेश के कुशीनगर जिले में हुआ हादसा अत्यंत दुःखद है। इसमें जिन्होंने अपनों को खोया है, उनकी इस अपूरणीय क्षति पर अपनी गहरी संवेदनाएं व्यक्त करता हूँ। साथ ही ईश्वर से घायलों के शीघ्र स्वस्थ होने की कामना करता हूँ।— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) February 17, 2022The villagers accused the health department of negligence, and said that many people could have been saved if treatment and ambulance had reached on time. The villagers alleged that there were neither doctors at the nearby Kotwa Community Health Centre (CHC) nor the ambulance arrived in time. ADG (Gorakhpur) Akhil Kumar, who reached the spot, said that cause of the incident is being investigated.According to a report in Amar Ujala, the deceased have been identified as Pooja Yadav (20), Shashikala (15), Aarti (13), Pooja Chaurasia (17), Jyoti Chaurasia (10), Meera (22), Mamta (35), Shakuntala (34), Pari (20), Radhika (20) and Sundari (9). Two of them are yet to be identfied.Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Assembly Elections Live Updates here.