Thirteen people, including 11 children, were killed and 17 went missing when their tractor-trolley overturned, throwing them into a deep water body in Maharajganj district of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Friday.
A police official told IANS that the victims, hailing from Jahanbaria, had gone to the Rapti river to immerse a Durga idol when the accident occurred near the Dahalwa canal in Bargadahi village late Thursday night.
The tractor driver apparently lost control of the vehicle while trying to negotiate a sharp turn on a steep climb.
Most passengers fell into a deep ditch filled with water. A total of 13 bodies had been recovered till Friday afternoon, an official said.
Divers were trying to locate those who were still missing.
District Magistrate Priti Shukla said ex gratia compensation of Rs.1 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased had been sanctioned from the Chief Minister's Discretionary Fund.