At least 15 people, including seven children, were killed when a farm tractor towing a wagon full of Hindu pilgrims capsized and sank into a pond in northern India on Saturday, according to officials.
According to authorities, when the wagon swerved off the road in the Uttar Pradesh state’s Kasganj region, some 40 devotees were inside, heading for a ceremonial dip in the Ganges River. Many more suffered injuries, some of them severe.
Tractor-pulled wagons are prohibited by law from carrying people, however in rural India, this rule is usually disregarded.
Twenty-six persons lost their lives in a similar Uttar Pradesh accident in 2022.
According to police officer Aparna Kaushik, the tractor was moving at a high pace before the driver losing control, according to preliminary inquiry results. If the driver had survived, it remained unclear.
With hundreds of thousands of road deaths and injuries each year, India has some of the highest rates of road fatalities worldwide. Most collisions are attributed to careless driving, poorly maintained roads, and aging automobiles.
Also Read:
Emirates Partners with Shell Aviation for Sustainable Fuel Initiative in Dubai
