Nearly a dozen people were injured when the roof of a wooden cabin they were sitting on collapsed on the route of the 145th Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city on Friday, an official said.
The incident took place when Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi was walking along with the procession, and he immediately rushed to the spot and gave necessary instructions to police officials.
Sanghavi even consoled a little girl and a boy who were separated from their family after the collapse. A video of Sanghavi wiping the girl's tears went viral on social media.
The incident took place when the procession was passing from narrow roads of Shahpur area in the Old city in the evening.
"Some 10 to 15 persons, including children, were sitting on the roof of a small cabin to enjoy the Rath Yatra. All of them fell after the roof, which was made of tin sheets, suddenly collapsed," Sanghavi told reporters.
"Luckily, policemen rushed to the spot and helped all of them. They are safe as they sustained only minor injuries. Since the girl was crying, I consoled her. She was then handed over to her family," he said.
The Rath Yatra, which started its 18-km long journey from Lord Jagannath Temple in Jamalpur area in the morning, is expected to return to the temple around 8.30 pm.
(With PTI inputs)
