Seven dead as speeding auto hits crane in Patna
Seven people, including a 22-year-old woman and her two children, were killed on Tuesday after the auto-rickshaw they were travelling in collided head-on with a crane near Kankarbagh bypass in Patna, police said.
The crane was engaged in the ongoing Metro rail work in the area.
According to police, four people died on the spot at New Byapass (NH-30) near Ramlakhan Path, while three others succumbed to their injuries during treatment at Patna Central Hospital.
Superintendent of police (traffic) Ashok Kumar Choudhary said, “One Mukesh Kumar Sahni, who was also injured, is undergoing treatment at a hospital.”
“The accident occurred at 3.44 am when the auto-rickshaw ferrying passengers from Mithapur towards Zero Mile collided with the crane. After the collision, the driver of the crane and the auto-rickshaw fled along with their vehicles. A case has been registered,” the SP said.
Sahni is the father of the two children who died along with their monther, police later said.
According to police, the accident came to light only after they scanned footages from a CCTV near the spot, which show a speeding auto-rickshaw colliding head-on with the crane carrying pillars. Footages also show locals and passersby helping the injured.
Police said the abandoned auto-rickshaw was later impounded from Mithapur locality and a search is on to locate the crane and the two drivers of the vehicles.
Deputy inspector general (DIG) Rajeev Mishra, who also holding the charge of Patna SSP, said preliminary investigation has revealed that the driver of auto-rickshaw lost control and the vehicle turned turtle on the road where the crane was engaged for work. “The collision can only be ascertained after the arrest of the driver,” he said.
Meanwhile, Patna Metro Rail Project issued a statement expressing condolences over the deaths and claiming that its work in the area was “being carried out under the supervision of its security personnel and traffic marshals with proper safety precautions like diversion boards, painted drums etc”.
“Going by the information received so far, an overloaded and speeding auto-rickshaw was seen getting overturned near pier 73. Barricading work was being carried out between pillars 73 to 72, which are about 25 metres apart. This information is based on CCTV footage. Metro workers present at the site informed officials that the auto-rickshaw was speeding, due to which it collided with the median after losing balanced and all passengers fell on the road,” the statement said.
A statement from the chief minister’s office said, “The chief minister has conveyed heartfelt sympathies to the family members and instructed officials to offer best medical services to the injured.”