Indian-American dies rescuing son from California beach waters
Darpan News Desk IANS, 05 Jun, 2023 10:17 AM
New York, June 5 (IANS) An Indian-American father of two, who had taken his family for an outing at a beach in California, died while rescuing his child from a riptide.
Srinivasa Murthy Jonnalagadda, who did not know how to swim, was enjoying with his family at Panther Beach in Santa Cruz last week when the tragedy struck, according to a fundraiser set up by family and friends seeking help.
"Unexpectedly a large wave came and knocked his son down and subsequent large waves began to drag him into the ocean," the GoFundMe page read.
He ran to save his son when he realised that the child was struggling to get out of the water.
While Srinivasa was able to rescue his son with help from a samaritan, he was unfortunately dragged into deeper waters by the riptide as his family screamed and helplessly watched him drown.
Emergency personnel who rushed to the site were able to retrieve Srinivasa and CPR was initiated on him, following which he was boarded onto a California Highway Patrol helicopter and taken to the hospital.
He succumbed to his injuries, and was pronounced dead at Stanford Hospital.
According to Kion 46 news channel, Srinivasa was rescued by members of multiple law enforcement agencies, including State parks, Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office and Santa Cruz Fire.
GoFundMe has called for donations to assist Srinivasa's family with immediate expenses such as funeral costs, medical bills, and other unforeseen financial obligations.
The United Nations refugee agency said on Thursday that the situation was quickly deteriorating after Russia's invasion. It appealed to neighbouring countries to keep their borders open to people seeking a safe haven.
There are an estimated 25,000 Indian students in Ukraine alone who are pursuing medicine, engineering, and science courses. More than 2,500 students from Tamil Nadu are estimated to be studying in Ukraine.
The Foreign Secretary stated that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has spoken to his Polish, Romanian, Hungarian, and Slovakian counterparts for setting up a camp at border areas for evacuation of stranded Indian nationals. He also stated that flight options are available through Dubai and Istanbul and that the Indian Embassy continues to be operational in Ukraine.
The Ministry of External Affairs in touch with all the neighbouring countries surrounding Ukraine to even evacuate Indian citizens. Many citizens who were to fly back to India were left at the airport after closure of Ukrainian airspace following Russia's Vladimir Putin announcement of a military operation in Ukraine.
Amidst the prevailing tension, the Indian students stranded in Ukraine are left with no choice but to queue up outside the Indian Embassy in Kiev seeking the authorities' help as they ran out of food and money. The Russian military actions in Ukraine have triggered panic among all sections, including students from India.
Clashes have also been taking place around the capital Kiev in the north and the Black Sea port cities of Odesa and Mariupol in the south, the report said. Air strikes from Russia have been carried out on Ukrainian military bases and airports, with fierce fighting reported around a key airport near Kiev.
