Two Indian Males Drown At New Zealand’s Piha Seaside

Wellington:

Two Indian males, who had been roommates in New Zealand, drowned when a rogue wave hit them whereas attempting to swim in some of the harmful spots at Piha Seaside, in response to media experiences.

The lifeless, recognized as Saurin Nayankumar Patel, 28, and Anshul Shah, 31, spent solely half-hour on the seashore in North Island final week earlier than tragedy struck, The New Zealand Herald newspaper reported. They had been described as “non-swimmers” by their households.

The 2 hailed from Ahmedabad in Gujarat and had been roommates in Auckland.

A pal of the 2 lifeless males, Hiren Patel, mentioned one other pal, Apurv Modi, was additionally within the water when a rogue wave pulled the trio aside.

Modi reached for Patel’s hand however could not maintain on as he “screamed and shouted” for assist, Hiren mentioned.

“It’s with God’s grace that Apurv Modi survived. He managed to come back to shore however he misplaced his associates,” Hiren mentioned.

Patel was {an electrical} engineer who arrived in New Zealand in August final 12 months, whereas Shah labored as a cashier at a gasoline station and got here right here in November, the report mentioned.

A lifeguard noticed the duo swimming in a harmful spot because the guards had been going off patrol on January 21, United North Piha Surf Lifesaving Membership president Robert Ferguson mentioned.

A rescue name was launched, however by the point the lifeguards obtained into place, the 2 had been lacking.

Based on Ferguson, the rescue boat discovered the primary sufferer however efforts to resuscitate him failed.

The second sufferer was noticed by the police helicopter, however he too, couldn’t be revived.

“The place they went in, I would not have gone in,” Ferguson mentioned.

Indian Excessive Fee’s second secretary Durga Dass confirmed the identities of the lifeless and mentioned, “It’s a large tragedy for the Indian group, the lack of these two males, and our ideas exit to their households,” in response to the report.

The Indian Excessive Fee in Wellington was in contact with the 2 victims’ households.

(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is printed from a syndicated feed.)