A mother and four of her children were crushed to death in India after a troop of monkeys brought down a wall in their home.

According to reports by the Times of India, the monkeys violently shook the home’s wall until it collapsed, the falling masonry killing the family which was asleep in the courtyard.

The family was sleeping outside because their ceiling fan was not working amid scorching weather in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Two children survived the incident, and authorities have offered to pay them compensation.

District magistrate Vikram Singh met the survivors and said they were getting the ‘best possible treatment’.

“It was a tragic incident and five members of the family died immediately after the wall collapsed on them,” he said after inspecting the scene.

A woman and her four children died while one sustained critical injuries after a part of the wall collapsed on them by a troop of monkeys in Shahjahanpur city. All seven members of the family were sleeping in the courtyard.— Kanwardeep singh (@KanwardeepsTOI)

A woman and her four children died while one sustained critical injuries after a part of the wall collapsed on them by a troop of monkeys in Shahjahanpur city. All seven members of the family were sleeping in the courtyard.— Kanwardeep singh (@KanwardeepsTOI) @Benarasiyaa @Uppolice pic.twitter.com/y6Vs8rMpqBJuly 17, 2020

The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, has offered the family 400,000 rupees (£4,200) in compensation, the magistrate said.

Friday’s freak accident was the latest in a long line of monkey-related tragedies in India, which is thought to be home to around 50 million of the primates.