Kendrapara, Sept. 10 -- A massive stone lion sculpture perched nearly 65 feet above the ground at the 400-year-old Laxmi Barahajew Temple in Aali suddenly came crashing down on Thursday, triggering panic among devotees and temple staff.
The incident occurred at around 10:45 am when the stone sculpture, an integral architectural feature of the upper portion of the historic shrine, suddenly became dislodged and plunged to the ground with a deafening sound.
A major tragedy was narrowly averted as a devotee had crossed the spot only moments before the sculpture collapsed. The devotee escaped unhurt.
Temple priest Golekha Chandra Panda said the incident occurred when heavy rain was lashing the area and several devotees were present on the tem...