The three travelled together for convenience, shared cost, the police said (Representational)
Three schoolteachers, including a woman, were killed after their car fell into a roadside lake and got stuck in its muddy waters near Gujarat's Mehsana town on Tuesday, the police said.
The three could not come out of the vehicle and eventually drowned as the car got stuck in the muddy waters in an upside down position, said BV Thakkar, Sub-Inspector at the Mehsana Taluka police station.
The victims have been identified by the police as Anand Shrimali (30), Vipul Chaudhary (38) and Smita Chauhan (37).
The car belonged to Vipul Chaudhary.
While Anand Shrimali and Vipul Chaudhary were residents of Visnagar taluka of Mehsana district, Smita Chauhan was a native of Mehsana town.
"The car veered off the road and fell into the lake after Mr Chaudhary lost control of the vehicle while passing through Panchot village on the Mehsana-Patan highway," said BV Thakkar.
"All of them used to work as teachers in different schools in the villages of the neighbouring Patan district. For convenience, Anand Shrimali and Smita Chauhan used to travel in Vipul Chaudhary's car and shared the cost," she said.
As per forensic experts, the car's doors got stuck in the mud and the thick vegetation which made it impossible for the three to come out in time, the police officer said.
"The victims eventually died of drowning before anyone could help them," she added.
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