A screengrab from the video of the accident.
Credit: X/@PTI_News
Kasganj (UP): Twenty-four people, including eight children, died when their tractor-trolley overturned and fell into a pond in Uttar Pradesh's Kasganj district on Saturday morning, police said.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have condoled the loss of lives in the incident.
Inspector General of Aligarh Range Shalabh Mathur said Chief Minister Adityanath also announced financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured.
According to the police, 15 to 20 people were injured in the accident that occurred on the Patiyali-Dariyavganj road under the Patiyali police station area when the occupants of the tractor-trolley were going to take a bath in the Ganga river.
"Twenty-four people died when the tractor-trolley overturned and fell into the seven to eight-foot-deep pond while the driver was trying to overtake another vehicle. Around 15-20 people were injured and have been hospitalised," Mathur told PTI.
He added that the deceased included eight children.
"The tractor-trolley was coming from Jaithara in Etah district. I am going to the spot with the divisional commissioner (of Aligarh)," Mathur said, adding that the bodies of the deceased would be handed over to their families after post-mortem examination.
According to the police, 22 of those who died in the accident have been identified as Guddi (75), Shakuntala (70), Meera (65) wife of Digvijay, Meera (55) wife of Rajpal, Gayatri (52), Pushpa (45), Shyamlata (40), Shivam (30), Shivani (25), Anjali (24), Jyoti (24), Ushma (24), Sapna (22), Deeksha (19), Sunaina (10), Kuldeep (7), Devanshi (6), Sandhya (5), Kartik (4), Laddu (3), Siddhu (one-and-half years) and Payal (two months).
Two other bodies are yet to be identified, police said.
President Droupadi Murmu termed deaths in the accident "heart-wrenching".
In a post in Hindi on X, she said, "The death of several people, including women and children, when a tractor-trolley fell into a pond in Kasganj district of Uttar Pradesh is heart-wrenching. I express my deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones and wish speedy recovery to those injured."
Terming the loss of lives as "heartbreaking" and "saddening", Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Heartbreaking! The accident that took place when a tractor trolley fell into a pond in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh is saddening."
"My condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. Along with this, I wish for the speedy recovery of the injured. Under the supervision of the state government, the local administration is engaged in providing all possible help to the victims," he added in the post on X in Hindi.
Adityanath too took to X to condole the deaths in the accident.
"The loss of lives in a road accident in Kasganj district is extremely heart-wrenching. My condolences are with the bereaved families. District administration officials have been instructed to provide proper free treatment to all the injured. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to grant peace to the departed souls and speedy recovery to the injured," he said.
As locals searched for trapped children, a woman was seen wailing and searching for her child. An excavator was also pressed into action for the rescue work.
Praveen Kumar, a local involved in the initial rescue operation, told reporters that he fished out 15 bodies from the pond. "We sent the injured to hospital on whatever vehicles were plying on the road that time. The deceased were mostly women," he said.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati also expressed sadness over the incident.
In a post on X in Hindi, Yadav said, "Very sad! The news of a large number of casualties in Kasganj when a tractor-trolley loaded with devotees returning after taking a bath in the Ganga overturned in a pond is extremely sad. Save people's lives by speeding up relief work. Wish for the speedy recovery of the injured."
He added that the government should give appropriate compensation to the families of the deceased.
Mayawati, in a post on X in Hindi, said, "The news of the death of about 22 devotees and injuries to many others when a tractor-trolley overturned in a pond in Kasganj district of Uttar Pradesh is very sad. My deepest condolences to the bereaved family. The government must provide all possible help to the affected families as soon as possible."