7 killed as auto hits a crane, falls in ditch

Gurgaon: Seven persons died on Friday evening when the auto-rickshaw in which they were travelling crashed into a crane in Nuh’s Punhana and fell into a ditch by the road. The crane, too, lost control, tilted on its side and fell on the auto, killing the passengers.
Five passengers of the overloaded auto, including two children, are battling critical injuries at the Mewat Medical College. The accident, police said, occurred around 6pm on the Punhana-Hodal Road.
The injured passengers were first taken to a nearby public health centre, from where they were referred to the medical college. They have been identified as Rajkumari, a teacher at a private school in Palwal, Hakam, Rehan, Dharmendra and Lalit. Rehan was driving the auto, which had 12 persons in total. The accident led to a snarl on the road. Normal traffic was restored after almost half an hour.