One of the deceased has been identified as 26-year-old Lovepreet Singh, a resident of Tapa Mandi in Punjab’s Barnala district. The second victim was reportedly a resident of Butala village in Naurangpur, Amritsar district.
One of the deceased has been identified as Lovepreet Singh, a resident of Tapa Mandi in Punjab's Barnala district.
Two young men from Punjab died after drowning in Montreal’s Lachine Canal in Canada in what authorities believe was a tragic accident, leaving their families devastated and prompting an appeal for assistance in bringing one of the bodies back to India for the last rites.
One of the deceased has been identified as 26-year-old Lovepreet Singh, a resident of Tapa Mandi in Punjab’s Barnala district. The second victim was reportedly a resident of Butala village in Naurangpur, Amritsar district.
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According to preliminary information, the two friends were near the canal when one of them allegedly slipped into the water. Lovepreet reportedly jumped into the canal in an attempt to save his friend, but both were swept away by the strong current and drowned.
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Emergency responders, including the Montreal Fire Department and local police, launched an extensive rescue operation after receiving information about the incident. After several hours of search efforts, both men were pulled from the canal and rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared them dead. Canadian police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The tragedy has left Lovepreet Singh’s family in deep shock. His father, Balbir Singh, a former CRPF personnel, said his son had moved to Canada nearly two-and-a-half years ago on a work permit in search of better employment opportunities and was working as a truck driver.
“We sold nearly two acres of our agricultural land to send our only son to Canada in the hope of securing his future. Today, we are only praying that his mortal remains are brought back home so we can perform his last rites according to Sikh traditions,” Balbir Singh said.
Appealing to the Central and Punjab governments, as well as members of the Indian community and social organisations in Canada, the grieving father urged authorities to expedite the repatriation process.
“Our family is going through an unimaginable loss. We request the governments and all those who can help to ensure our son’s body is brought back to Punjab at the earliest,” he said.
Lovepreet’s mother, Veerpal Kaur, broke down while recalling her son and appealed for support.
“He was our only son and our biggest hope. We just want to see him one last time and perform his final rites in our village,” she said.
Family members said Lovepreet had spoken to them over the phone around ten days before the incident and regularly remained in touch despite living thousands of kilometres away.
His maternal uncle, Gurtej Singh, said the family had made enormous sacrifices to send Lovepreet abroad.
“The family invested everything they had for his future. No one could have imagined that instead of welcoming him home, they would now be waiting for his body,” he said.
Meanwhile, Darshan Singh Mander, district president of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), expressed condolences to the bereaved family and assured them of all possible assistance.
“We stand with the family in this difficult time and will extend every possible support to help bring Lovepreet Singh’s mortal remains back to Punjab,” Mander said.
The incident has sent shockwaves through the victims’ native villages, with residents mourning the loss of two young lives in a rescue attempt that ended in tragedy.
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