2 girls hurt as LPG auto catches fire

HYDERABAD: Two schoolkids had to be hospitalised with severe burns when an LPG-engine autorickshaw, in which they were playing, caught fire at Hayatnagar on Saturday.According to the police, an 11-yearold girl, N Puja, and her 5-year-old cousin, N Deepika, were playing in the parked autorickshaw which is owned by Puja's father Shankar.But suddenly gas leaked from the LPG kit attached to the vehicle. According to Vanasthalipuram police inspector K Bhaskar Goud, the families of the two girls lives in opposite thatched houses. Beside Deepika's residence, some locals were cooking food on the road margin using wooden sticks.With the diffusion of the gas in the air, the fire from the burning sticks spread rapidly and flames leapt into the auto in which the children were sitting. Locals rushed to their rescue and brought them out of the burning three-wheeler but the two kids had suffered severe burns by that time. They were taken to a nearby private hospital for treatment.