MARSHALL — Grief and numbness were etched on the faces of Nepalese students at Southwest Minnesota State University on Tuesday as they gathered at the Office of Cultural Diversity. They were mourning the loss of three young people from Nepal — including two current SMSU students — who died after a two-car crash in southern Minnesota on Monday on state Highway 4, south of St. James. Those killed were Utshav Basnev, 19, Nishma Timilsina, 20, and Bedija Kharel, 20. The State Patrol in Mankato reported the three were passengers in a car that was attempting a U-turn from the right shoulder of the road and was broadsided by another car. They were in a car driven by Rachel Thompson, 17, of Clarks Grove. She and Jeremy Dorpinhais, 27, of Forest City, Iowa, were taken to a Mankato hospital. The 82-year-old man who was driving the other car is in good condition at a Madelia hospital. Southwest Minnesota State spokesman Jim Tate said that Basnet and Kharel were current students, while Timilsina was enrolled last spring but was not a current student. Tate said the university was offering grief counseling for students who are still at school during the holiday break. Basnev, Timilsina and Kharel were visiting a “host uncle” from Albert Lea and Thompson was the uncle’s granddaughter, said Guinness Shrestha, an SMSU student from Khatmandu. “ She was giving them a ride home (back to Marshall),” Shrestha said. International students often travel in groups during school breaks because they lack transportation, he said. Shrestha said two other students returned to Marshall the day before, but Basnev, Timilsina and Kharel stayed another day. “ They probably went there to celebrate the New Year,” said Shrestha. Shrestha said he knew Basnet in particular. He was “studious and determined,” he said. “He didn’t go to gatherings — he would rather study. He got good grades and was hard working in his studies. He was very good in English. His papers were handed out (to other students) as examples.” Shrestha added that when Basnet did relax, he “would play guitar with us.” Basnev majored in biology with the goal of being a doctor, said Anil Singh, a sophomore majoring in health education. Singh said the three students were “friendly and got along with everybody.” Singh said he couldn’t believe that the three were gone. There are 96 students from Nepal at SMSU, said International Student Services coordinator Sandy Nelson. There are 224 international students from 27 countries here, with the highest representation from Nepal. Shrestha said the three had attended an institute in Nepal which “sent them to Southwest.” The three students worked for Aramark Dining Services, said assistant manager Lee Ann Dombek. “ They were good employees; they did everything very good,” Dombek said. Dombek remembered talking to Kharel recently. Kharel was a junior who took businesses classes, said Singh. Dombek said it is winter break at the school, so “nobody’s really around.” The ones who are still there are “very sad” and “they can’t believe it,” she said. “ All of us here at the university are deeply saddened by the tragic news of the deaths of three of our students,” SMSU President David Danahar said in a release. “The loss of these three bright and inquisitive young men and women is extremely difficult to comprehend, much less accept.” Source: - http://www.southwestmsu.edu/intranet/news/3students.cfm