Friends of Jatin Garg at the beach at Overlander Park on July 7, 2025. (Image Credit: Kent Simmonds/CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

DROWNING VICTIM

TRU supporting family of Indian international student who drowned in Thompson River

Jul 17, 2025 | 4:52 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Thompson Rivers University (TRU) student whose body was found in the Thompson River near McArthur Island on Tuesday (July 15) has been identified by an online fundraiser.

Jatin Garg entered the Thompson River at Overlander Park on July 6 to retrieve a volleyball and his body was recovered on July 15 by a member of Kamloops Search and Rescue who was ‘intentionally but unofficially’ paddling on the river.

TRU is now involved in assisting the man’s family with everything from visas to enter Canada, to flights, and finding a funeral home.

“Part of our wraparound enhanced international student services include these details because their families aren’t here,” TRU Vice President International Baihua Chadwick said.

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“If their families were here, they would be doing this.”

A GoFundMe has been launched to help raise funds to repatriate Garg’s body to India. It’s a process that the university has become uncomfortably familiar with, as the staff at TRU World assist the family in the preparations for sending him home.

“In this particular case with Jatin’s family, they will want to bring him home,” Chadwick said. “And our team, and I say this and it’s true, our team is sadly too experienced in this. They are experienced, they know exactly what to do, and they will be following the steps to provide that service to the family.”

In an email to the TRU community Thursday (July 17), President Dr. Airini said the recovery of Garg’s body brings “clarity and closure” but also a “profound sense of sorrow.”

“Our hearts ache for his family overseas, who are now confronting the deepest of griefs, and for his friends who were there that evening and carry the devastating memory of this tragedy with them,” the email said.

“We extend our deepest condolences to Jatin’s loved ones and to every person in our campus community – students, faculty, staff – who are grieving. In moments like this, words often feel insufficient. But it is through our collective presence and solidarity that healing begins, a care born out of shared humanity, not a sense of obligation.”

“We are thankful to the search and rescue teams and officials who gave their expertise and time to the search,” the email added.

In the email, a copy of which was forwarded to CFJC Today, Airini also said there are a number of supports available for members of the TRU community.

“We are not alone in this. Please do lean into your community. Reach out to a classmate, a colleague, or a friend. Share a story or simply sit quietly together,” the email read.

“Sometimes, the most meaningful care is found in offering time and a listening ear.”

– With files from Victor Kaisar/CFJC Today