Datia Fort: Seven people died on Thursday when the wall of a 400-year-old fort adjacent to a house collapsed due to heavy rains in Datia city of Madhya Pradesh. An official said that the incident took place in Khalkapura area around 4 am. Nine people living in the adjacent house were buried under the debris due to the collapse of the wall. Datia District Magistrate Sandeep Makin said that two people were rescued and seven people died. A local resident said that the fort named 'Rajgarh' is believed to be 400 years old and once used to have a museum, which was later shifted elsewhere.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed grief.

The District Magistrate said that the team of the State Disaster Emergency Response Force (SDERF) had to work hard for more than six hours as part of the rescue operation. He said that two injured people are being treated at the local hospital. Expressing grief over the incident by posting on the social media platform 'X', Chief Minister Mohan Yadav announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the victims. The Chief Minister said that the SDERF team immediately reached the spot, but due to the narrow street where the house is located, the lives of people could not be saved despite a lot of efforts. According to District Magistrate Makin, five of the deceased belong to the same family, while the others belong to another family.

The administration was criticized for the slow rescue operation.

The deceased have been identified as Niranjan Vanskar (55), Mamta Vanskar (45), Shivam (20), Suraj (17), Radha (23), Kishan Vanskar (55) and Prabha (50). Congress MLA from Datia Rajendra Bharti criticized the administration for the slow pace of the rescue operation and claimed that the administration was unprepared to deal with such situations. He also demanded a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh each for the injured. Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former state Home Minister Narottam Mishra also visited the spot and expressed grief over the incident. He attended the last rites of the victims.