Indo-Canadian community holds vigil for students killed in crash

Vigil held for international students The three young men were students at the New Brunswick Community College in Saint John. Laura Lyall reports.

A vigil was held this week for the three victims of a car crash over Labour Day weekend.

The three young men were international students at the New Brunswick Community College in Saint John and it was on that campus that people gathered to pay their respects.

At the vigil, the photographed faces of the young men, all in their twenties, looked out over a crowd of more than 100 people -- friends and colleagues who gathered to honour three young lives cut tragically short.

"To show that we are all in and we are all together," said Amit Tamrakarof the Indo-Canadian Society of Saint John. "We are part of the same community."

That community came together at Saint John's NBCC campus, after a terrible crash on Sept. 1 in which the three students were killed.

Newcomer Gobind Dansinghani took his family to the vigil.

"I was so touched by the solidarity that was given and the unity that was given by the Indian cultural societies here," said Dansinghani, who lives in Rothesay.

A statement from the community college says: "We are grateful to the members of the larger community who have supported our students and our college, not only last night, but throughout this difficult time."

Tamrakar says the two survivors of the crash did attend Thursday night's vigil, and while they're doing okay physically, he says emotionally the pain is still very raw.

"There were lots of tears, so there's still a lot to go through," Tamrakar said.

And while the investigation into what caused the crash isn't conclusive, RCMP have indicated speed may have been a contributing factor.

The 28-year-old driver was taken into police custody but released on a promise to appear in court in December.

A public prayer service is scheduled for Sunday in Fredericton at the city's Hindu temple to commemorate the victims.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Laura Lyall.