Gurgaon clerk drowns in Thailand

A 35-year-old school clerk, who was on a leisure trip to Bangkok with his friend, died after drowning at Pataya beach on Friday.

A 35-year-old school clerk, who was on a leisure trip to Bangkok with his friend, died after drowning at Pataya beach on Friday.

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Lifeguards made a botched attempt to save the life of Surinder Mehlawat, a resident of Jharsa village (Sector 39) and a clerk at government school of Kadipur, but he was sucked into the sea by the waves.

Mehlawat had left for Bangkok on April 11 for a week's holiday. His body is likely to reach Gurgaon on Tuesday while the post-mortem will take place in Bangkok on Monday. He did not know how to swim.

Praveen Kumar, who was with Mehlawat at the time of the incident, informed his family about the tragedy on Saturday.

"I was with Surinder at Pataya beach in the evening when a freak wave swept him away. It took a few minutes for lifeguards to spot him. They tried to save him, but it was too late," Kumar, a property dealer from Samastpur village, told HT.

"His body was recovered within a few minutes. It's strange that we were just standing and playing in water and the next moment the wave took him along. We used to go on a trip every year. He was an adventurous person and loved travelling. He wanted to explore different places.

The only son, Mehlawat is survived by his wife and two children - an 11-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son.

"The entire village is in deep shock on having lost a young man," said a villager.