A 29-year old Indian woman was pulled out of water early on Tuesday morning, January 30 and was declared dead at the scene.
Police was called to reports of a drowning at Tahunanui Beach, Nelson.
The woman was identified as Teena Kunjappan, a native of Kundara, Kollam, Kerala, India and was in New Zealand on spouse visa.
The Indian Weekender has learnt that Ms Kunjappan’s husband Jilu C. John, who arrived in New Zealand on a student visa and was currently on a work visa which expires in August later this year.
Apparently, Mr and Mrs John went for a beachside walk after midnight when they decided to enter into water and got into trouble.
The police reported that two people, a man and a woman got into trouble while swimming at low tide in clothing and they were struggling to the shore.
“The man managed to pull the woman out of the water, at around 1.30 a.m. but the woman, a 29-year-old, unfortunately, died at the scene,” the police media release said.
The man was taken to Nelson Hospital in a moderate condition.
This is the second incident of drowning in the last three weeks where a 26-year-old Indian man was pulled out of water on Waimarama Beach and pronounced dead at the scene.
The death will be referred to the coroner.
Jilu C. John with his wife Teena Kunjappan (Picture: Facebook)
The Indian Weekender has been told that Mr John is wanting to take Teena's body back home to her native place in Kerala, India.
The High Commission of India is informed about the tragic incident and is in touch with the close friend of Mr John, Vishnu, who is supporting him and coordinating with other authorities.
The news has brought grief to the Malayali community and the wider Indian community around the country.
Secretary of Auckland Malayali Samajam Blessan M Jose is in touch with the friends and family of Mr John and is rallying the members of Samajam to provide support to the family at this hour.
When The Indian Weekender last spoke to Blessan M Jose, he was in the process of setting up a Givealittle page to rally community support for helping the family in body repatriation.
More details are awaited.
ISSUE
