Days after three men from Telangana drowned while spending their holiday in a beach in Australia, the family of 28-year-old Mohammed Abdul Junaid has turned to crowdfunding to help bring his body back to India. The bodies of Mohammad Ghouseuddin (45) and Syed Rahath (35) were found immediately after the incident while a search was launched to locate Junaid's body. It was found only two days later.
The incident occurred at Moonee Beach in New South Wales, where Ghouseuddin and Rahath, based in Sydney, had come along with their families for a get-together. When their three teenage children started drowning, Ghouseuddin along with his nephew Junaid and Rahath jumped into the water to save them. However, all the three adults drowned. Guards saved two girls and a boy, all aged between 15 and 17. They were shifted to a hospital.
Junaid, whose family lives in Hyderabad, was reported to be a student in Australia.
"On December 19, after an extensive search, Junaid's corpse was found at Port Macquarie, which is 150 km away from the place where the incident took place. His parents are devastated after losing their only son. With a heavy heart we ask for your help and support. We are raising funds to assist families with the funeral, flights and other costs which will be incurred during this time. Also Junaid's parents have requested to send their son's body back home to India," the crowdfunding appeal on GoFundMe by Junaid's cousin, Shahbaz Mohammed, states.
The petition received an overwhelming response, collecting close to $15,000 raised by 308 people in just two days.
"As we are receiving multiple requests from generous people to raise the goal to support Junaid's family, we are revising the goal to $25,000. All the remaining funds will be used to financially support Junaid's family. We really appreciate all the support. Thank you!" Shahbaz said in an update on Friday.
Following the deaths, Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) spokesperson Amjed Ullah Khan had appealing for the Indian Embassy to provide the required assistance to the bereaved families, tagging External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao in a tweet.