From left, Nishma Timilsina, 20, Utshav Basnet, 19, and Bedija Kharel, 20

From left, Nishma Timilsina, 20, Utshav Basnet, 19, and Bedija Kharel, 20
(photo source : startribune.com)

Three Nepali students were killed when their car was hit by another vehicle on a southern Minnesota highway of the United States on Monday, reports said.

Those killed in the accident were identified as 19 year old Utshav Basnet and 20 year olds Nishma Timilsina and Bedija Kharel.

StarTribune.com quoted the State Patrol as saying that the three were not wearing seat belts, and their car was hit when the driver tried to make a U-turn from the right shoulder of a two-lane highway.

All students were enrolled in classes at Southwest Minnesota State. The students were off school on winter break, the report added.

Of the 225 foreign students enrolled at Southwest Minnesota State, 95 are from Nepal.

“As news of the accident spread, many of the students from Nepal gathered at the office of Sandy Nelson, the school’s international student services coordinator to make plans to raise money for the victims’ families to help them take their loved ones home,” the report added.

Three other people injured in the accident, Rachel Thompson, Jeremy Dorpinghais and Leroy Sydness are undergoing treatment.