Six of the labourers were pulled out alive from the debris on Tuesday, while three of them remained trapped inside the well.

A joint rescue operation was carried out by the SDRF and NDRF for 20 hours, however, by the time the rescue team reached the three workers on Wednesday, they were already dead.

Officials said that the rescue operation was slowed down by the flow of water into the well, and they had to dig a parallel hole to reach the labourers trapped at a depth of 30 feet.

The deceased labourers have been identified as Wasid Khan (18), Sehzadi Khan (50) and her son Rashid Khan (18).

The incident had occurred on Tuesday afternoon when the labourers were repairing a dilapidated old well at a village in Chhindwara district.

Chhindwara District Collector Shailendra Singh has said that two earth moving machines were deployed to speed up rescue operations late on Tuesday night.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed his condolences on the tragic incident, and has announced a financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each, to the families of all the deceased.

The Chief Minister said the police force, Home Guard and NDRF team immediately started the rescue operation and made every effort to get the workers out safely, but three of them could not be saved.

"The government will provide financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of all the deceased. I pray to Almighty God to give peace to the departed souls and strength to the family members to bear this immense sorrow," CM Yadav said in a statement.

Courtesy Media Group: IANS