People stand near the Saryu canal after an SUV fell in the canal leaving at least 11 people dead and four others critically injured, in Gonda district, Uttar Pradesh.
Credit: PTI Photo
Lucknow: An SUV plunged into a canal in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district on Sunday leaving eleven members of a family dead.
The deceased included women and children and one child is also reportedly missing.
Police said that the ill-fated jeep carrying 16 members of a family, residents of Seehagaon, were on their way to a Shiva temple for ‘jalabhishek’ (offering sacred water), when the driver lost control on the bridge over Saryu canal and the vehicle plunged into the waters breaking the railings.
The driver and three others managed to come out of the vehicle and swim to safety however the rest who were trapped inside, suffocated to death.
Sources said that a few locals jumped into the canal to rescue the trapped people but by the time they broke the window and took them out they were already dead.
One child was reported to be missing in the incident, sources said.
Eleven bodies were later fished out of the canal and efforts were on to trace the missing child.
According to the eye witness accounts, the vehicle appeared to be over speeding when the incident happened amid heavy rains.
Police said that they were investigating the cause of the incident.