Ottawa

5 students from India killed in Highway 401 crash

Police have identified the five people killed in a crash on Highway 401 Saturday morning in Quinte West, west of Belleville, Ont.

Victims had been studying in Montreal and the Greater Toronto Area

Investigators and collision reconstructionists were dispatched to the scene of this March 12, 2022 crash between a van and a tractor-trailer on Highway 401 in Quinte West near Belleville, Ont. On Sunday police identified the five people killed as students from India who'd been studying in Montreal and the Greater Toronto Area. (OPP)

Five students from India have been identified as the people killed in a two-vehicle crash Saturday morning on Highway 401 west of Belleville, Ont.

Police were alerted about the crash between a tractor-trailer and passenger van in the highway's westbound lanes at approximately 3:45 a.m., according to the Ontario Provincial Police's Quinte West detachment.

Five people, all of whom were riding in the van, were declared dead at the scene.

On Sunday, OPP identified the victims as Harpreet Singh, 24, Jaspinder Singh, 21, Karanpal Singh, 22, Mohit Chouhan, 23, and Pawan Kumar, 23.

All five had been studying in Montreal and the Greater Toronto Area, police said.

Harpeet Singh had a residence in Montreal, while Chouhan, Kumar and Karanpal Singh were all attending the Montreal branch of College Canada, OPP Const. Maggie Pickett said.

Two other passengers in the van were transported to hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the tractor-trailer was uninjured. 

An investigation is underway but no charges have been laid. While the highway's westbound lanes were closed for several hours, it has since reopened.

With files from Shuyee Lee

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