Five Indian students have been identified as those killed in the two-vehicle crash which occurred on Saturday morning, on Highway 401, west of Belleville, Ontario, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
As per Ontario Provincial Police’s (OPP) Quinte West detachment, police were alerted of the crash which took place between a tractor-trailer and a passenger van in the westbound lanes of the highway.
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The five people in the vehicle were all declared dead at the scene, and the OPP identified them on Sunday as Harpreet Singh, 24, Jaspinder Singh, 21, Karanpal Singh, 22, Mohit Chouhan, 23, and Pawan Kumar, 23. Police said that they all studied in Montreal and the Greater Toronto Area.
OPP Constable Maggie Pickett said, as per CBC, that Harpreet Singh was a resident of Montreal and the other four were attending the Montreal branch of College Canada. As per Ottawa’s CTV News, Pickett said, “It’s a tragedy. Nobody wants to respond to that call for service, but we’re there, we’re working”.
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India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Ajay Bisaria, tweeted about the incident, saying “Heart-breaking tragedy in Canada: 5 Indian students passed away in an auto accident near Toronto on Saturday. Two others in the hospital. Deepest condolences to the families of the victims. @IndiainToronto team in touch with friends of the victims for assistance”.
There were two other passengers in the van, who were transported to the hospital having sustained heavy injuries. However, the driver of the tractor-trailer remained unharmed.
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An investigation into the accident is underway but the police have not laid any charges yet. CTV reported that the highway’s westbound lanes had been closed for around 10 hours on Saturday between, Wallbridge Loyalist Road and Glen Miller Road, but has been reopened since.
