Death toll in India temple accident rises to 36

The death toll rose to 36 on Friday after a floor collapsed at a Hindu temple in India, as rescuers discovered the body of the last person still missing, police told AFP.

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Dozens of worshippers celebrating a major religious holiday on Thursday plunged into the stepwell - a stair-lined communal water source after the floor covering it collapsed in the central city of Indore.

"Seventeen people were rescued yesterday. Thirty-six bodies have been recovered," senior police officer Manish Kapooria told AFP.

Women, children and an 18-month-old baby were among those on the grille covering the well when it buckled and gave way, plunging them into about 7.5m of water.

The bodies of dozens of victims were cremated on pyres near the scene of the accident on Friday after brief funeral rites were conducted.