Christmas holidays turned out to be tragic for two international students - Sujan Adhikari and Sujan Sharma, who drowned during a holiday outing.
29-year-old Sujan Adhikari arrived in Australia as an international student from Nepal.
A day after Christmas, he along with a friend were scheduled to appear for an English language test but his life was tragically cut short when he drowned at Wattamolla Lagoon in the Royal National Park on Christmas Day.
An eyewitness told the police that Sujan jumped off a cliff at the lagoon and failed to resurface after he dived in.
Adhikari was out with his four other friends for picnic when this happened.
When he was finally located, paramedics tried to revive him for about an hour but they failed.
He was then pronounced dead by a doctor.
Sujan’s friend, Anup Raj Neupane told that Adhikari, was working towards gaining his permanent residency in Australia.
Source: Google Maps
Mr Adhikari had been in Australia since 2009 and his facebook profile states that he first acquired his Bachelor in Business (Accounting) from Victoria University in Melbourne and later moved to Sydney to study MBA at Holmes Institute in Sydney.
His friends described him as “kind and cool” person.
“He was never angry. He was very shy. He wanted to live in Australia,” Mr. Neupane said.
Another Nepalese international student, Sujan Sharma drowned in a separate incident at Kangaroo Valley on Monday.
27-year-old Sharma was an international student and resident of Belmore, Sydney who went for an outing with his wife at Kangaroo Valley in NSW on boxing day.
Source: Google Maps
Sharma along with his wife was on a canoeing trip when he took his life jacket off and jumped into the waters at Bendeela Recreational Area shortly after 3pm for a swim.
The man’s distressed wife raised the alarm when he could not be located.
The Westpac Life Saver helicopter and divers were brought in to assist with the search.
His body was recovered from the water at about 6.15pm on Monday.
The Non-Residential Nepali Association of Australia expressed their shock and condolences at these tragic deaths.
In a Facebook post, they wrote, “Both of them were living and studying in Sydney. I on behalf of NRNA Australia would like to express our deepest condolences on the loss of Sujan Adhikari and Sujan Sharma and extend our deepest sympathies to the grieving families during this period of mourning. May the departed soul rest in peace.”
Adhikari and Sharma are among seven people who have drowned during Christmas holidays, NSW police said. Australian Water Safety Council states that in last 11 years, (2004-05 to 2014/15), more than three thousand people have drowned in Australia.
While males are four times more likely to drown than females, Australian government has specifically identified members of cultural and linguistically diverse communities as being highly susceptible to drowning.
