India road accident kills 27 Hindu pilgrims: media reports

NEW DELHI:  At least 27 people were killed on Saturday when a tractor pulling a trolley full of pilgrims from a Hindu shrine in India overturned and fell into a pond, according to media reports.

The accident in the city of Kanpur in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh left another 22 people injured, The Times of India reported.

Other news media gave slightly lower death tolls.

The tractor-trolley was bringing Hindu pilgrims back from the Chandrika Devi temple, reports said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences in a tweet.

"Distressed by the tractor-trolley mishap took place in Kanpur. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their near and dear ones and prayers with the injured," Modi said.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said this kind of vehicle -- a tractor pulling a large cart -- should be used only to transport farm goods and freight, not people, The Hindu said.

"The road accident in Kanpur district is very heart-wrenching," he said.