Bathinda: Two Punjabi youths drowned in the Lachine Canal late Sunday night. The incident occurred when one of them slipped into the water, and the other drowned while attempting to rescue him.The victims have been identified as 26-year-old Lovepreet Singh from Tapa Mandi in Barnala district, and Yograj Singh from Butala village in Amritsar district, though further details regarding the latter are still awaited. Following a two-hour search using sonar equipment, the Montreal fire department and the Canadian coast guard located the victims, brought them ashore, and took them to a hospital, where they were declared dead. A pall of gloom descended on Tapa when news of Lovepreet’s demise arrived late Monday. His father, Balbir Singh, a retired CRPF personnel, said the family had sold two acres of land to raise Rs 29 lakh to send Lovepreet to Canada on a work permit two-and-a-half years ago, where he was working as a truck driver. The family has urged both the central and Punjab govt for assistance in repatriating Lovepreet’s mortal remains so his final rites can be performed in his native village.
