WILBRAHAM, MA. (THECOUNT) — The two men who drowned in the Chicopee River Saturday have been identified as 27-year-old Theeb Alyami of Hartford, CT and 25-year-old Jaser Daham Alrakah of Springfield.
Both men were foreign nationals living in the United States from Saudi Arabia and attending local colleges when they died while trying to save a pair of younger swimmers near Cottage Avenue in Ludlow, MA.
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The Hampden County District Attorney’s office said that late Friday afternoon, police received a 911 call for a report of swimmers in distress near Red Bridge Road in Wilbraham. Several witnesses told emergency crews when they arrived that two small children had gone into the water and began having difficulty staying above the water due to the current. At that point, several adults went into the water to aid the children, but two of those adults were overtaken by the current and were swept away and did not appear to resurface.
Officials with Western New England University tell Western Mass News that Alrakah was a junior in civil engineering at the school. He transferred there in the fall of 2017.
“The entire Western New England University community joins with Jaser’s family and friends in mourning his tragic loss. By all accounts, he died coming to the aid of others. The University is working with the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission to support Jaser’s family during this difficult time,” said university spokesperson Dave Stawasz in a statement. source
The incident remains under investigation.