The Indian group in Australia is mourning the tragic loss of life of 4 compatriots, together with three girls, who drowned at an unpatrolled seashore in Phillip Island this week.

Jagjeet Singh Anand, a 23-year-old male nurse, Suhani Anand and Kirti Bedi, 20-year-old nursing college students, and Reema Sondhi, 43, died within the tragic incident on Wednesday. They had been a part of a gaggle of about 10 individuals who had been having fun with a day trip at Phillip Island, close to Melbourne in Victoria.

A detailed relative, who was too devastated to talk at size, stated Sondhi was visiting her household in Australia and had arrived there two weeks earlier, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Sondhi was the daughter-in-law of industrialist Om Sondhi from Phagwara in India’s Punjab state. Reema’s husband Sanjeev too was a part of the group however he survived.

Jagjeet Singh Anand, a Melbourne-based nurse, was a everlasting resident in Australia whereas Suhani Anand and Bedi had been on scholar visas. The three youthful victims had been all residents of Clyde, a suburb of Melbourne.

Ravinder Singh, who’s near the household of the victims and is organising a fundraiser, stated the group was struggling to grasp the size of the tragedy.

“It’s so unhappy, we’ve no phrases,” he instructed ABC Information.

“They had been very form members [of Melbourne’s Indian community], they had been very all the way down to earth.

“It is extremely vital to show the group about rip currents,” he stated.

Associates have additionally began a GoFundMe marketing campaign to assist “fulfil the needs” of the household.

“Shivam, a registered nurse with a coronary heart of gold, saved many lives all through his profession however was unable to be saved when wanted himself. Suhani and Kriti, each nursing college students, had deliberate to remain house and concentrate on their research, however life had different plans,” marketing campaign organiser Ankur Chhabra stated.

“On this time of immense grief, we are able to come collectively, not simply in mourning, however in a tide of compassion that lifts their households above the depths of despair.

“We will help by elevating funds to help the household in fulfilling their needs, whether or not it’s transporting the stays again to India or supporting the cremation ceremony in Australia,” Chhabra instructed 9News channel.

The Indian excessive fee in Australia on Thursday in a put up on X spoke concerning the heartbreaking tragedy during which 4 Indians misplaced their lives.

The fee stated the consulate common of India in Melbourne was offering help to the household and buddies.

Bass Coast Mayor Clare Le Serve, expressing her condolences to the victims’ households, stated the Forrest Caves tragedy and different latest drownings had deeply saddened the Phillip Island group.

While we dwell in an exquisite area surrounded by seashores, that is sadly a tragic reminder of how harmful the ocean could be, she stated.

Victoria Police Japanese Area Assistant Commissioner Karen Nyholm stated the victims entered the water close to Forrest Caves — near Cape Woolamai — on the Bass Strait facet of the Phillip Island’s south-eastern peninsula.

Off-duty lifeguards browsing close by rushed to their assist after the group obtained into issue, pulling three individuals from the water unresponsive.

Life Saving Victoria commander Kane Treloar stated lifeguards from Cape Woolamai had been referred to as at about 3.40 pm on Wednesday and a rescue boat retrieved the fourth personall required CPR.

Three of the victims had been pronounced lifeless on the scene whereas one of many 20-year-old girls was resuscitated and flown to The Alfred. She died in hospital, police stated on Thursday morning.

All of us labored tirelessly to assist these individuals, Ambulance Victoria supervisor Paul James stated. It is tragic solely per week in the past we had three different separate drownings right here in Gippsland.

Treloar stated Wednesday’s tragedy was the worst drowning incident in Victoria in virtually twenty years.

It is not since 2005, [when] a tragedy occurred at Stingray Bay, that we have seen these types of numbers, he stated, referencing a drowning at Warrnambool’s Center Island that killed 5 individuals from one household.

Treloar urged these on Phillip Island to swim at three patrolled seashores, together with Cowes Seashore on the protected Western Port facet of the island.

The uncovered seashores alongside Bass Strait are a harmful, however actually lovely stretch of shoreline that lots of people need to come and revel in this summer season, he stated.

A spokesperson for Phillip Island Nature Parks, which manages the Forrest Caves space, stated the authority would evaluate warning indicators on the seashore, which already had a no-swimming image and met Australian requirements.

Police are nonetheless attempting to piece collectively what led to Wednesday’s tragedy, however usually are not treating the deaths as suspicious. Emergency providers warned towards swimming on the comparatively distant Forrest Caves seashore.

Police will put together a report for the coroner.

First Revealed: Jan 26 2024 | 10:56 AM IST