At least nine children were killed and several others injured Sunday after a wall collapsed during a Hindu religious event in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, police said.

The wall collapsed in Shahpur village of Sagar district, about 205 kilometers northeast of Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh.

"Today in a tragic incident near the Hardaul Baba temple in Shahpur here, nine children aged between 10-15 years were killed and several others injured in a wall collapse. The people had gathered in the temple for a religious ceremony when the wall of a house next to the temple collapsed over them," a police official said. "The 50-year-old old house was run down by heavy rain in the ongoing monsoon season."