A routine well-cleaning activity turned into a disaster in Madhya Pradesh’s Kondawat village when eight people died after inhaling toxic gas.

The incident happened on Thursday when villagers were preparing the well for idol immersion as part of the Gangaur festival celebrations.

Five villagers initially descended into the 150-year-old private well to remove accumulated sludge.

However, they soon started sinking into the swampy residue. Seeing them struggle, three more villagers rushed in to help but were also overcome by the toxic gases and got trapped.

A rescue operation by the district administration, police, and SDRF teams lasted for four hours. One by one, all eight bodies were recovered from the well.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed condolences and announced ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh for the families of those who died.

He also assured a thorough investigation into the incident.

Villagers, devastated by the loss, decided to seal the well to prevent future incidents. The district administration has ordered an investigation, with preliminary findings indicating that toxic gases in the well led to suffocation and drowning.