Fundraiser launched to help family return Sask. drowning victim to India
![Yuren Patel Yuren Patel, a 23-year-old man drowned at Waskesiu Lake in Prince Albert National Park last week on Sunday. (Photo: GoFundMe page)](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2024/7/20/yuren-patel-1-6971630-1721495835834.png)
A GoFundMe page has been set up to support the family of Yuren Patel, a 23-year-old man who drowned at Waskesiu Lake in Prince Albert National Park last week on Sunday.
Friends of Patel launched the GoFundMe campaign to help the family with transporting his body back to India for final rites and cremation, as per their cultural and religious beliefs.
“It is Kamleshbhai's (Yuren's father) earnest wish to perform the last rites and cremation of Yuren in their homeland, back in India. But they face the daunting task of arranging for Yuren's final journey home,” reads the GoFundMe page.
Around 3 p.m. on July 14, officers at the Waskesiu detachment received multiple calls about a man in distress.
RCMP vehicles surround the body of a man who died suddenly at the main beach in Waskesiu on July 14, 2024. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News)
Police, along with paramedics and Prince Albert National Park wardens attended the scene. Patel was removed from the lake and declared dead by paramedics.
According to the GoFundMe page, Patel was at the lake with friends Sunday when he went swimming near the main beach.
Details on the page say he was a good swimmer but got too deep, panicked, and went under the water.
The GoFundMe page says a friend tried to help him but was unsuccessful.
RCMP vehicles surround the body of a man who died suddenly at the main beach in Waskesiu on July 14, 2024. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News)
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