Three people who were killed in a horror crash in the Highlands were Indian nationals who went to the university together, an Indian newspaper has confirmed.
Emergency services raced to A828 Oban to Fort William road, near Castle Stalker, following the crash between a silver Honda Civic and a black HGV at around 2.30pm on Friday, August 19. The three male occupants of the Honda died at the scene while a fourth was taken to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital with serious injuries.
A 47-year-old man was arrested in connection with a road traffic offence and released pending further enquiries. The Times of India has reported that the three deceased were Indian nationals who attended Leicester University.
Two were students while one was a graduate at the university.
It's understood the group of four friends - Girish Subramanyam, 23, Pavan Bashetty, 23, Sai Varma Chilakama, 24, and Sudhakar Modepalli, 30 - had been holidaying in Scotland when the tragedy took place.
Girish, Pavan and Sai were pursuing masters degrees at the university while Sudhakar, who had already graduated, was working in Leicester.
Girish, Pavan and Sudhakar died at the scene while Sai, who was critically injured, was airlifted to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. It's understood he is currently in a serious but stable condition.
Girish’s heartbroken mother Aruna Kumari told The Times of India that she received a call from Scots police who informed her of the tragedy.
She said: "We had spoken to him [Girish] on Thursday [August 18] night. He said he was going to a place with snowfall and would call the next morning."
The devastated mum added that the call never arrived. The road was closed until around 2.25am on Saturday to allow investigations to be carried out.
Sergeant Kevin Craig said: “At this time, our thoughts are with the families and friends of the deceased men. I would also like to thank the public for their patience and understanding as officers attended the scene and carried out their enquiries.
“We are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding this crash and would ask anyone with information, or who witnessed anything, to contact officers via 101 quoting incident 1976 of Friday, 19 August, 2022."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
