NEW DELHI: Bad weather could have been the reason of the road accident which led to the death of five Indian students in Ontario, Canada, on March 12. Two of the students who survived the crash are in hospital.The five students have been identified as Jaspinder Singh (21), Karanpal Singh (22), Mohit Chohan (23), Pawan Kumar (23) and Harpreet Singh (24). Chohan hailed from Balachaur in Punjab.
They were attending schools in Montreal and Greater Toronto Area, according to Ontario Provincial Police. The van in which the students were travelling was hit by a tractor-trailor. The truck driver was not injured. No charges have been laid so far.
This is the second tragic incident involving Indians in Canada in three months. In January, four including an infant were found dead near the Canada-US border. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar expressed grief. "Deeply mourn the passing away of five Indian students in Canada. Condolences to their families and pray for the recovery of those injured," he tweeted.
In recent road accidents, 11 Indian students have died, which is considered as a matter of great concern in Canada. There are around 200,000 Indian students studying in Canada. "Heart-breaking tragedy. Five Indian students were killed in a road accident and two others have been hospitalised," said India's High Commissioner to Canada, Ajay Bisaria."Very saddened by the loss of the five Indian students," said High Commissioner (designate) for Canada in India, Cameron MacKay.
In an unrelated development, an Indian truck driver, Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, is being deported after he ignored a stop sign, in 2018, which led to an accident and the death of 16 students.