Three killed in A828 crash in the Highlands were Indian nationals from Leicester University on holiday

Three men who were killed when the car they were travelling in collided with a lorry in Argyll have been named as Indian nationals.

The collision occurred on Friday around 2.30pm on the A828 Oban to Fort William Road near Castle Stalker, where the silver Honda Civic the men were travelling in collided with a black HGV.

Three men travelling in the Honda died at the scene, with a fourth male occupant of the car taken to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow with serious injuries.

It has now emerged that they were friends from Leicester University.

The Consulate General of India in Edinburgh confirmed that Girish Subramanyam, 23, and Pavan Bashetty, 23, both from Bengaluru, and Sudhakar Modepalli, 30, from Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district died at the scene.

The car’s fourth occupant was named by The Times of India as Sai Varma Chilakamari from Hyderabad, who remains in hospital, where his condition is now stable.

A 47-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a road traffic offence and released pending further enquiries.

The Consulate General of India in Edinburgh is liaising with the men’s families and will help to get their bodies flown home.

The road between Oban and Fort William was closed for around 12 hours following the crash and reopened on Saturday afternoon.

It is the latest in a series of recent fatal collisions in Argyll and the Highlands, with nine people killed in less than two weeks.

The Times of India reported that Mr Subramanyam and Mr Bashetty were studying for master’s degrees at Leicester University, while Mr Modepalli had already graduated and was working.

The paper reported that in Bengaluru, Mr Subramanyam’s mother Aruna Kumari said she had received a call from the police in the UK informing her of the tragedy.

She added that she had spoken to her son the day before the incident and he said he was “going to a place with snowfall” and would call the next morning, but never did.

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, August 19.”