A 23-year-old Indian student has drowned while swimming near a waterfall in Canada's Ontario. A family member confirmed that a Polukonda Lenin Naga Kumar (23) from Andhra Pradesh drowned while swimming in Silver Falls, Canada.
Naga Kumar, a resident of Chintaguntapalem near Machilipatnam, was living in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He went swimming at Silver Falls with his three roommates and drowned around 1 AM on Tuesday, according to Indian time.
"Silver Falls is approximately 40 km from where he lived. One of his roommates stated that he managed to come out of the water safely, but my nephew was unable to do so as it was deep," said Naga Kumar's uncle, Nutan Kumar, in an interview with PTI. According to Kumar, his nephew went to Canada in August 2021 to pursue an MS degree at the University of Lakehead. After completing his studies, he was currently searching for a job. In the meantime, Naga Kumar was working part-time as a supervisor at a restaurant.
According to The Times of India, Naga Kumar's paternal uncle Venugopala Rao said that his friends called had called his home after the incident. Rao said that it was a pleasure trip to Silver Falls. Two of his friends were sitting on the water body's bank, while Lenin and the other friend went for a swim downstream. "Lenin knows swimming. He even went inside and came back to the bund once. On the second attempt, he somehow drowned," Rao was quoted as saying by TOI. When the others saw him struggling in the water, they called the emergency response, but by the time rescuers arrived, Naga Kumar had drowned.
News agency PTI reported that Machilipatnam Lok Sabha member V Balashowry has written to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, urging him to assist in repatriating the student's body to India. "Kindly instruct the Indian Embassy in Canada and request them to make the necessary arrangements for transporting his body back to India," wrote Balashowry, providing Naga Kumar's details.
(With PTI inputs.)