A day after a tractor-trolley carrying 22 people fell in the river Garra, officials in Hardoi on Sunday recovered eight bodies and called off the search operations.
While 14 people swam out of the river safely on Saturday, a search was ordered for eight others.
Hardoi District Magistrate Avinash Kumar said, “The team of State Disaster Response Force recovered eight bodies in a 15-hour-long search and rescue operation in river Garra. The operation has been called off, he added.
The district administration will provide ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased.
According to officials, a tractor-trolley carrying 22 people fell into the river Garra on Saturday when its driver lost control over the wheels and the tractor-trolley fell off a bridge in Pali police station area.
The people on the tractor-trolley were natives of Begrajpur village of the district who had gone to Pali town to sell their farm produce. They were returning to the village when at around 11 am on Saturday the tractor-trolley plunged into the river from the bridge near Pali.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also taken cognisance of the accident. The IG of Lucknow zone was sent by the chief minister to supervise the rescue operation. The district magistrate and district police chief also remained present at the spot to ensure safety of maximum victims.