Gonda, 3 Aug

An SUV fell into the Saryu canal in the district on Sunday, leaving 11 people dead and four others injured, police said.

Station House Officer (SHO), Itiathok police station, Krishn Gopal Rai, said the victims were going from Sihagaon village to offer holy water at the Prithvinath Temple in Khargupur when the accident occurred near Belwa Bahuta.

Rai said the SUV was carrying 15 people, including the driver.

With the help of villagers and rescue teams, 11 bodies were recovered from the submerged vehicle.

The bodies have been sent for postmortem and an investigation into the incident has been initiated, officials added.

Superintendent of Police, Vineet Jaiswal said those killed included six women, two men and three children.

The victims were identified as Beena, 35, Kajal, 22, Mehak, 12, Durgesh, Nandini, Ankit, Shubh, Sanju Verma, Anju, Anasuya and Saumya.

The SP said four people, including the SUV driver, were rescued and sent to a hospital.

Rahul Verma, a resident of Itiyathok and an eyewitness to the accident, said the road was slippery due to rain in the morning.

The SUV was running on the road built next to the canal and when the driver applied the brakes it slipped and fell into the canal, he said.

"We immediately called the police and villagers to the spot and pulled out the SUV with the help of a rope," he said.

A teenage girl, who survived the accident, said, 'We were all going to visit Prithvinath temple. At the time of the incident, the women and girls were singing 'bhajans'".

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath condoled the loss of lives in the accident and announced a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the deceased.