Madhya Pradesh: 3 dead, two injured as car rams into stationary crane in Betul

Three people were killed and two others sustained critical injuries after their car rammed into a stationary crane in Madhya Pradesh’s Betul drict in the early hours of Tuesday, the police said.For representational purposes only. (Getty Images/ockphoto)The deceased were identified as Hrithik Solanki (21), Vinay Prajapati (21) and Abhay Thakur (22), all residents of Ramnagar. The injured youths, Deva Pandey (32) and Akash Pal (30), were referred to Nagpur in critical condition.Betul sub-divisional police officer Sunil Lata said the accident occurred near the Basant Petrol Pump on Itarsi Road.“Five friends were returning from dinner in a car at 3am when their car collided with a crane near the Basant Petrol Pump on Itarsi Road. Three of the five people in the car died on the spot. Two friends, Deva Pandey and Akash Pal, were critically injured,” the officer said.He added that the bodies were trapped inside the vehicle and had to be recovered breaking the car’s windshield.“An investigation is underway to determine whether the crane had been parked in the wrong place or if the accident was caused due to speeding,” the officer said.The police said Solanki worked as a taxi driver in Bhopal and was behind the wheels at the time of the accident. Thakur was employed as a recovery agent with a finance company, while Prajapati had completed a B.Pharmacy course and was doing an internship in Betul.Pandey is a student, while Pal runs a tiffin centre with his father.