At least nine children were killed after a wall collapsed at a village in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district on Sunday, PTI reported.

The incident took place between 8.30 am and 9 am during a religious programme near a temple in the Shahpur village amid heavy rainfall.

The children were aged between 10 years and 15 years, PTI quoted Sagar’s Divisional Commissioner Virendra Singh Rawat as saying.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav suspended the chief municipal officer of the Shahpur Nagar Panchayat and a sub-engineer, PTI reported. Yadav directed civil bodies in Madhya Pradesh to identify dilapidated buildings and take action.

In a social media post, the chief minister expressed grief over the incident and announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of those who had died.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that the incident was “extremely heartbreaking”.

“The government and administration are requested to provide immediate compensation and take appropriate steps to prevent such incidents from happening again due to heavy rains and bad weather,” Kharge said. “Such negligence is unfortunate.”