India, March 3 -- Three people were killed and two others sustained critical injuries after their car rammed into a stationary crane in Madhya Pradesh's Betul district in the early hours of Tuesday, the police said.

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 ...