PUNE, June 21 -- At least five devotees were killed and 18 others injured after a portion of an under-construction Hanuman temple collapsed in Maharashtra's Parbhani district on Saturday afternoon, officials said. Around 25,000 devotees had gathered at the temple in Yashwadi village of Manwat taluka on Saturday. After the prayers, as the sacred offering (prasad) was being distributed to the devotees at around 3pm, a portion of the temple which was under construction collapsed, trapping several people under the debris. District administration officials identified the deceased as Santosh Gadade from Pangara, Akash Surdose from Gangakhed Road in Parbhani, Numesh Agrawal from Jintur, Suraj Kopratkar from Itali, and Shrikrushna Balbhim Gaware from Wadwani, in Beed district. Authorities have initiated an inquiry to ascertain the cause of the collapse, officials said. Guardian minister of Parbhani, Meghna Sakore-Bordikar said, "The Hanuman temple at Yashwadi is very famous and attracts over 50,000 devotees every Saturday. Construction work has been underway for a year and a portion of the structure collapsed today. The district administration, police and emergency services immediately rushed to the spot and rescued several people." MLA Rajesh Vitekar said: "The construction work had been halted for a few days due to some reason. The ropes used during construction may have weakened, leading to the sudden collapse," he said, adding that the injured were shifted to RP Medical College and some of them admitted to the ICU of Parbhani government hospital. District collector Sanjaysingh Chavan said, "I have instructed that a structural audit of the temple be conducted immediately, and further action will be taken based on the findings". Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed grief over the incident and announced financial assistance of Rs.5 lakh each for the families of the deceased. Expressing solidarity with the family members of the deceased, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office posted on X: "The loss of lives due to the collapse of a wall in Parbhani, Maharashtra, is deeply saddening. My thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones in this mishap. May the injured recover at the earliest."...