A 22-year-old Indian man has died after drowning at Duranbah Beach, Tweed Heads on the New South Wales-Queensland border in Australia on Christmas day.
The man was identified as an Indian national Ravneet Singh Gill, a business student of Southern Cross University, Australia.
Queensland surf lifesavers took to the waters on their Jetskis for the mass rescue as Ravneet and seven others in trouble. The lifesavers were able to rescue all eight of them, but Ravneet was pulled out unconscious.
The paramedic's team was unable to resuscitate the 22-year-old and was declared dead at the scene. Police was called to the scene at around 4:45 p.m. media reported.
The famous twin lifesavers, Shaun and Dean Harrington who are known for their Jackass-style stunts accused the fellow surfers of not stepping up in such situation that led to the unfortunate death of the man.
The twins took on to social media criticising fellow surfers ‘being mute spectators’ instead of helping the people in danger.
The seven others rescued were taken to the hospital for assessment and the beach was closed for the rest of the day, police said.
Friends of Ravneet returned to the beach on Tuesday, December 26 to cherish memories of their unfortunate friend and remembered Ravneet as ‘golden-hearted person’, NZ Herald reported.
The Gold Coast Sikh Council will be arranging a special kirtan program for Ravneet and has also started fundraising to assist his family.
Ravneet belonged to Gill village in Ludhiana district of Punjab, was the eldest of the two brothers and had gone to Australia on a student visa, SBS Punjabi reported.
"He was smart, witty, hard-working, vibrant and full of energy. The locals will miss him dearly.
“We are told he was the type of person who had a big heart, and he always offered help where he could,” Mr Manjit Boparai who is also making sincere efforts to send his body back to India told SBS Punjabi, Australia.