8 Dead Due To Heat Exposure At Award Event

India: Eight people who sat in the open at the Maharashtra Bhushan award event today died due to extreme heat, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde told reporters.

Mr Shinde also went to a hospital where some 50 people have been admitted with heat-related health issues.

Home Minister Amit Shah presented the award, instituted by the Maharashtra government, to social activist Dattatreya Narayan. The event was held at Navi Mumbai, where the day temperature was recorded at a maximum of 38 degree Celsius.

Mr Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis also attended the event.

The social activist’s followers numbering in thousands attended the event at a massive ground in Navi Mumbai. The event started at 11.30 am and went on till 1 pm.

The ground was packed with people and equipped with audio and video facilities for them to see the event. The seating arrangement for the audience, however, had no shed over it.

Mr Shinde called the incident “unfortunate” and announced a compensation of ₹ 5 lakh to the families of those who died.

“As per the briefing received from doctors, 7-8 people have died today, while 24 are being treated. This is a case of sunstroke. Some 50 people were admitted to the hospital, of which 24 are still there while the rest have been discharged after primary treatment,” Mr Shinde told reporters while coming out from the hospital.

“It is very unfortunate and painful that some members participating in the Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony this morning died due to heatstroke… We share the grief of their families,” Mr Fadnavis tweeted in Marathi.