Balcony collapses during Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad, 1 dead

A man died and five others were injured after a balcony of a dilapidated house on the route of the annual Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra procession collapsed in Dariapur locality in Ahmedabad on Tuesday afternoon, police said.

Some of the injured were standing on the second-storey balcony watching the chariot procession while some were standing underneath, said inspector J S Chaudhary of Dariapur police station.

They were rushed to the civil hospital where Mehul Panchal (36) died during treatment while the condition of the other five was said to be stable, he said.

Videos of the incident showed three persons standing on the balcony as the 146th annual Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra was passing.

The two-storey building was said to be old and dilapidated. The administration had taken special precautions to ensure that no such incident took place during the Rath Yatra, officials said.

As police personnel rushed to help those who were injured in the collapse, the procession continued.