A very tragic incident in Niagara Falls, Canada.

A talented young man, originally belonging to Nabipur village, Sameer Siraj Patel (age 19 years), went missing after drowning in Niagara River on Monday, June 8th, 2020. An international student studying Health Sciences at Brock University, St. Catherines, ON, drowned in Niagara River near Niagara Glen and the Niagara River Parkway, in the City of Niagara Falls.

As Sameer does not have any immediate family members in Canada, a team of community members consisting of TDSB Trustee Zakir Patel, Faruk Dutli, Sadique Patel and Iqbal Patel [Popat] visited detectives in charge at Niagara Regional Police and the roommates of Sameer in St. Catherines. The local team is also in contact with Sameer’s immediate family members in India and the UK to support them at such a difficult time. We request everyone to make duas (prayers) for Sameer and particularly for his family to bless them with patience and courage to bear such a tragic loss of their young child.

As per Niagara Regional Police, considerable assets were dispatched to search the area including: Niagara Regional Police Marine Unit, Niagara Parks Police High Angle River Team, Niagara Falls Fire Department, Canadian Coast Guard, Erie County Sheriff’s Office – Air One, US Coast Guard, Canadian Forces Base Trenton – Search and Rescue (Helicopter). The search for the male will be continuing today as the NRPS Marine Unit will be conducting searches in the river. The Niagara Parks Police, with the assistance of Niagara Helicopters, will also be conducting aerial based searches of the river.

Report by Iqbalbhai Patel [Popat] from Canada