Person who drowned off Vancouver's Wreck Beach identified as student from India

Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 22, 2025 7:57 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

An online fundraiser has identified the idiosyncratic who drowned disconnected Wreck Beach adjacent the University of B.C. past week arsenic a pupil from India.

Rahul Ranwa, 26, was the unfortunate of the drowning that was reported astatine the fashionable clothing-optional formation connected April 17, according to a GoFundMe acceptable up successful his name.

According to the fundraiser, which was acceptable up by Ranwa's cousin Yuvraj Singh, Ranwa was studying at Vancouver Community College successful the maestro of concern medication program, and besides worked a part-time occupation since his accomplishment successful Canada past year.

"Beyond ceremonial and repatriation costs, we are besides raising funds to assistance wide the debts taken by his parents successful India for his acquisition and relocation," the fundraiser reads.

"Rahul's dreams were built connected their sacrifices, and we privation to easiness the fiscal load they are near carrying successful the midst of unimaginable grief."

Details of the drowning person been scarce, but RCMP accidental that they responded to calls of a distressed swimmer astatine Wreck Beach connected Thursday, with the man reportedly "yelling for assistance and struggling to swim."

A bystander reportedly attempted to rescue the antheral but returned to enactment and mislaid show of him.

Authorities had deployed divers, hovercraft and helicopters successful a bid to hunt for the missing swimmer — but said the hunt was stood down a time later, erstwhile a assemblage was recovered connected Third Beach successful Stanley Park that matched the missing swimmer's description.

CBC News has reached retired to the RCMP to find retired if they person definitively identified the assemblage recovered astatine Third Beach.

The fundraiser, however, confirmed that the assemblage recovered astatine Third Beach was that of Ranwa, who was a subordinate of the pupil assembly astatine VCC and the lone lad of his parents.

A spokesperson for VCC declined to remark connected the case.