The international students from India have been dealing with hardships. Once again Indo-Canadian community was mourning tragic loss of five Indian lives when news about a road accident in Ontario spread. Five students died in a collision between a van and a tractor-trailer.
The passenger van with eight people aboard was travelling west on Highway 401 Saturday morning when there was a collision with a tractor-trailer at around 3:45 a.m. near Quinte West, Ont., Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said.
It is the second major tragedy involving Indian international students this month after the death of Indian security guard at UBC’s Kelowna Campus.
On Saturday March 12, 2022, at approximately 3:45 a.m.officers from the Quinte West Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to a motor vehicle collision on Highway 401 west bound, between Aikens Road and St. Hilaire Road.
A tractor trailer and a passenger van were involved in a collision resulting in five fatalities, and two passengers were transported to hospital with serious injuries. The driver (and lone occupant) of the tractor trailer was not injured.
Harpreet SINGH, 24 years old, Jaspinder SINGH, 21 years old, Karanpal SINGH, 22 years old, Mohit CHOUHAN, 23 years old, and Pawan KUMAR, 23 years old, who were all studying in Montreal and the Greater Toronto Area from India were pronounced dead at the scene.
Highway 401 was closed for approximately 10 hours between Wallbridge Loyalist Road and Glen Miller Road while OPP Technical Collision Investigators (TCIs) and OPP Collision Reconstructionists investigated the scene of the collision.
The Quinte West OPP Crime Unit is also assisting with the investigation which is continuing at this time. No charges have been laid.
A spokesman from Canada College, a Montreal school that caters to international students, says at least three of those who died and one of two injured survivors studied at the school. He informed that most of the victims associated with the school had been studying business administration. He did not name the students, saying the school would provide more information once it was sure families in India had been contacted.
High commissioner of India to Canada, Ajay Bisaria, termed the incident a “heartbreaking tragedy” and said the Indian mission is in touch with friends of the victims for assistance. Mourning the deaths, external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Monday tweeted, “Condolences to their families. Pray for the recovery of those injured. @IndiainToronto will provide all necessary support and assistance. ” Two other passengers were taken to a hospital with serious injuries, police said, adding that an investi- gation into the accident was underway. The driver of the tractor-trailer was not hurt, CTV News reported.
The Tribune reported that the family of Karanpal Singh, who died in the accident said they had no idea when the deceased’s body would arrive at Ammo Nangal village.
Karanpal’s father Harjit Singh, a farmer, said he had spent a lot of money on sending his son to Canada for further studies after he completed his graduation from Baring Union Christian College.
“After his graduation, he undertook a year-long online course in business administration from a Canadian university. On January 26 last year, he went to Canada to complete the course,” he said.
Harjit Singh said, “Karanpal tried to get a job after completing graduation. Had the government given a job, he would have never gone to Canada.”
The number of Indian students attending Canadian universities rose from 76,075 in 2016 to 1,72,625 in 2018, an increase of 127%, according to a report published last year quoting the Canadian Bureau for International Education.
