3 Bangladeshi students killed in Canada road crash

Three Bangladeshi students died on Thursday in a road accident in Canada.

Two cars collided early in the morning on the highway, about 10km south of the Interlake community of Arborg, it said quoting the local unit of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

The Bangladeshi students were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the RCMP.

They have been identified as Aranoor Azad Chowdhury, Al Numan Aditta, and Raisul Badhan.

"It's very devastating to the community," Tasneem Vali, vice-chair of Manitoba Islamic Association told CBC News.

Police said two of the students were 23. They were yet to verify the third student’s age.

A 53-year-old woman from the rural municipality of Armstrong was in the northbound car. She received serious but non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to hospital in Winnipeg.

As the province's largest Muslim organization, the Manitoba Islamic Association is handling the funeral arrangements, along with offering grief counselling and other supports to anyone who needs that help, Tasneem Vali said.

The families of all three students are overseas. The Islamic association and local Bangladeshi associations are reaching out to them, she said.

Vali said her association will also offer counselling online for any family members, adding there are many arrangements to be made regarding the bodies and the funerals.

Alcohol is not considered a factor in the collision, which remains under investigation, RCMP said.

Arborg is about 115km north of Winnipeg.