Rescuers in Punakha fished out the body of a 24-year-old male DeSuup from the Mochhu last night. He had drowned trying to save another friend who was drowning in the river while swimming. The incident happened when seven male DeSuups undergoing robotics training at the Phaduna DeSuung Skilling Programme went to wash their clothes by the river. Our reporter Changa Dorji filed this report.
After washing their clothes, one of the De-Suups went out to swim in the river where he struggled to stay afloat. The deceased then jumped in to rescue his friend but was also caught in the river.
Then, another DeSuup is said to have tried to rescue the two friends but to no avail. In the midst of the chaos, a Bhutanese rafting team arrived at the scene and helped rescue two of them. However, they said the third couldn’t be saved as he drowned probably due to exhaustion.
Thereafter, the search for the missing man was carried out after the DeSuung office and Royal Bhutan Police was informed. At around 5:50 pm, the body of the deceased was located along the incident area which was fished out at around half an hour later. The body of the deceased has been handed over to the family
According to an official from the DeSuung Skilling Programme, officials at the training center have been always reminding and advising the DeSuup trainees to refrain from going near the river as their training campus is located by the side of the river.
The office also says there are strict rules for the trainees to abide by when leaving the campus. However, during yesterday’s incident, the office says the seven DeSuup trainees had gone to the river without informing the office.
An official at the training centre also said the centre has enough washrooms within the campus for the trainees to bath and do laundry. Meanwhile, after the incident, all the six DeSuups were taken for a medical observation and were discharged.
Changa Dorji, Punakha
Edited by Kipchu
