LUCKNOW, India — A farm tractor pulling a wagon loaded with Hindu devotees overturned and fell right into a pond in northern India on Saturday, killing a minimum of 15 individuals, together with seven youngsters, officers stated.

The wagon was carrying round 40 devotees on the best way to take a ritual bathtub within the Ganges River when it veered off the street in Kasganj district of Uttar Pradesh state, police stated. Over a dozen others have been injured, some critically.

Authorities have banned tractor-pulled wagons for transporting passengers, however the order is mostly flouted in rural India.

In 2022, 26 individuals have been killed in an identical accident additionally in Uttar Pradesh.

Police officer Aparna Kaushik stated an preliminary investigation indicated that the tractor was touring at a substantial velocity earlier than the motive force misplaced management. It wasn’t clear if the motive force had survived.

India has a number of the highest street loss of life charges on the earth, with tons of of hundreds of individuals killed and injured yearly. Most crashes are blamed on reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and growing older autos.