Eleven devotees on their way to a Shiva temple to offer holy water from the Ganga died after their SUV fell into the Saryu canal in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district on Sunday.
Vinit Jaiswal, superintendent of police of Gonda, said the devotees were headed to the Prithvinath temple in Khargupur from Sihagaon village in Motiganj when the driver lost control of the vehicle at Itiyathok.
Jaiswal said it was raining at the time of the incident and the road was slippery. The deceased included six women, two men and three children, he added.
The victims were identified as Beena, 35, Kajal, 22, Mehak, 12, Durgesh, Nandini, Ankit, Shubh, Sanju Verma, Anju, Anasuya and Saumya.
“The initial inquiry suggests that there were 15 people in the car, of whom 11 died. Nine of the deceased belong to the same family. One person is missing. We have deployed the National Disaster Response Force to search for him,” Jaiswal said.
The SP said four persons, including driver Sitasaran Singh, were rescued and sent to a hospital.
K.G. Rao, police inspector of Itiyathok, said: Locals saved four persons, but later the rescuers recovered 11 bodies. A girl, who survived, said that there were 16 people in the car. We are searching for one missing person.”
Rahul Verma, a resident of Itiyathok and an eyewitness, said the SUV slipped and fell into the canal when the driver applied the brakes.
“We immediately called the police and villagers to the spot and pulled out the SUV with the help of a rope,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the loss of lives and announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the next of kin of each deceased.
The injured would be given ₹50,000, he said.
“Deeply saddened by the loss of lives due to an accident in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the mishap. May the injured recover soon,” he posted on X.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed condolence and announced a compensation of ₹5 lakh to the families of each victim.
Locals believe that the Shivling at the Prithvinath temple is one of the tallest in the country.