3 children die as tractor carrying Ganesh statue rams into crowd in Dhule – India TV

In a tragic incident, three children died and six people were injured after a tractor carrying a Ganesha statue ran over them in Dhule district of Maharashtra on Tuesday.

According to police, the incident occurred when the Ganesh immersion procession was scheduled to begin at around 12.30 pm in Chitod village in Dhule tehsil.

When the procession was about to start, the driver of the tractor got down for some reason and another man, a member of the Ganesh Mandal which had organised the procession, climbed into the driver's seat and started the vehicle but lost control of the wheels.

The tractor reversed and drove into the crowd behind it, the officer said.

Pari Shantaram Bagul (13 years), Shera Bapu Sonawane (6 years) and Lahu Pawra (3 years) were crushed to death. One of the dead was the niece of the person who started the vehicle, the official said.

Gayatri Pawar (25), Vidya Jadhav (27), Ajay Somvanshi (23), Ujjwala Malche (23), Lalita More (16) and Vidya Sonawane (17) were seriously injured. They were taken to Hire Medical College.

The man in the driver's seat fled the scene of the accident, but was soon arrested by the police, as was the driver himself.

(With PTI inputs)

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