Two Saudi students die trying to save drowning children in US
The two universities where the students were studying praise their heroic effort
Two Saudi students were swept away by the current while trying to save two children from drowning in the Chicopee river, Massachusetts, US.
The students, Theeb Al Yami, 27, and Jaser Al Rakah, 25, were cousins studying in Massachusetts and were about to graduate next month.
The bodies of the students were recovered after an extensive search.
The children were playing in the water and were caught in the current, according to reports. Several adults tried to help thm, but failed, the report said.
“On Friday my brother and his cousin were on a picnic next to the river when they saw a mother in distress trying to save her children, who now because of my brother and cousin are alive and have already been discharged from the hospital,” the brother of one of the victims told the Saudi news site Sabq.
“The American media are referring to them as heroes.”
Bodies recovered
A State Police diving team and air wing helped in the search of the bodies of the two students.
The body of one victim was recovered on Friday and the second one on Monday.
Al Rakah was an engineering student at Western New England University and Al Yami was enrolled at the University of Hartford in a civil engineering programme.
The two universities issued statements in which they expressed their condolences to the Al Yami and Al Rakah families.
The two universities said that they appreciated the heroic efforts of the two students who died while helping others and expressed their full solidarity with the families of the deceased.
University of Hartford President Greg Woodward issued a statement to mourn the loss of Al Yami. “We mourn this terrible loss together. In the days ahead, we will work with Al Yami’s family to determine the most appropriate way to honour his memory,” the statement issued by the university read.
On Friday my brother and his cousin were on a picnic next to the river when they saw a mother in distress trying to save her children, who now because of my brother and cousin are alive and have already been discharged from the hospital.”
Brother of one of the victims