Lucknow, Jun 25 (IANS): Fifteen people were killed when the bus they were travelling in crashed into a tree in northern Uttar Pradesh, police said Monday.

The mishap took place at around 2 a.m. Monday morning near the old police station at Joya in Jyotiba Phule Nagar district, 371 km from the state capital.

Police said that the accident took place as the driver fell asleep. Fourteen people died on the spot while one succumbed to his injuries at a Moradabad medical facility.

The bus was packed with members of the same family who were returning from a head tonsuring ceremony from Haridwar. According to the police, more than two dozen people from Kamalpura were travelling in the ill-fated bus.

The dead passengers have been identified as Rame Mukhiya, Kanchan Devi, Vijay Pal Singh, Banwari Singh, Kartar Singh, Malkhan Singh, Brahma Devi, Vidya Ram, Mansukh, Premvati, Kailash, Lal Singh, Babloo and Viresh.

Superintendent of Police Shakeel Ahmad said that the driver was on the run and efforts were on to trace him. The injured have been admitted to Amroha and Moradabad hospitals.