LUCKNOW, India—Twenty-six people, mostly women and children, died when an agricultural tractor pulling a wagon full of people capsized and plunged into a pond in northern India.
The wagon was carrying about 40 people returning from a ceremony at a nearby Hindu temple on Saturday night, said Police Superintendent Tej Swaroop Singh. It is said to have been caused by drowning.
At least 10 people were injured in an accident in the Gatanpur district of Kanpur city, about 60 miles (100 km) southwest of Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow. The injured are admitted to the hospital.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on Twitter on Saturday. My thoughts are with all those who have lost close and loved ones. I pray with the wounded. ”
It’s the second time in three days that at least 12 people have died after a tractor carrying people overturned.
Uttar Pradesh’s highest elected Yogi Adityanath has discouraged the use of agricultural tractors for passenger transport.
“Tractor trolleys should be used for agricultural work and the movement of goods, not for transporting people,” he said in a statement.
India has one of the highest road fatality rates in the world, killing and injuring hundreds of thousands of people each year. Most accidents are caused by reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and aging vehicles.
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