Hyderabad, Jan 1 Three people were killed and five injured when granite blocks fell off a truck and crushed the auto-rickshaw in which they were travelling.
The ghastly mishap occurred in Telangana's Mahabubabad district on Saturday night when a group of auto-rickshaw drivers were on their way to collect money for New Year celebrations.
Tragedy struck them near the Kuravi police station on Warangal-Khammam highway. The deceased were identified as Y. Srikant, B. Suman and D. Naveen, all aged 30. Five others were injured and admitted to hospital.
The victims were from Mangoligudem village and all were said to be auto-rickshaw drivers. They plied their three-wheelers till Saturday evening and then left for Kuravi village to collect the money from millers on the eve of New Year.
When the auto rickshaw in which they were travelling reached Somlatanda it collided with a truck laden with huge granite blocks coming from the opposite direction. The auto-rickshaw fell off the road into bushes and the granite blocks from the truck also fell on them.
Police rushed to the spot and removed the granite blocks with the help of cranes. Srikant died on the spot. Suman succumbed while undergoing treatment at Mahabubabad hospital while the third youth Naveen breathed his last when he was being shifted to the MGM Hospital Warangal.
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