Tonight the Indian community of Belmopan is mourning the sudden and tragic loss of their loved one, twenty five year old Gopal Singh Rawat. Around eleven forty five on Good Friday, Gopal, who worked as a chef at the well known Indian restaurant MI Hotbite accompanied his close friends to their farm in the Young Gyal area just behind Teakettle Village in the Cayo District. But exactly one hour into the Easter outing his lifeless body was retrieved from a nearby river.
According to a close family friend, Gopal was swimming along with them but decided to go off on his own. The current was strong and at first he appeared to have panicked and then suddenly disappeared before their eyes. The close friend told 7News it appeared as if Gopal had swum right into a whirlpool that pulled him underwater.
The group ran to area residents for help and it was one of the villagers that later retrieved the body from the bottom of the water. In keeping with the Indian tradition the body of Gopal Singh Rawat will be cremated and then his remains will be taken back to his family in India.
