Phillip Island mass drowning: Moving scenes of four family members who died at sea laid to rest with powerful quote from Queen Elizabeth II
Family and friends of the four people who died in Victoria’s worst drowning in 20 years have been bid farewell at a joint Hindi funeral.
A road trip to Forrest Caves Beach on Phillip Island ended in tragedy after relatives Kirti Bedi, 20, Reema Sondhi, 42, and siblings Suhani Anand, 20, and Jagjeet Singh Anand, 23, were caught in a deadly rip while swimming .
On Thursday, hundreds of visitors gathered at Bunurong Memorial Park at Dandenong South in Melbourne’s south-east.
Speaking at the service, which was conducted mainly in Hindi and Punjabi, a family friend said the deaths would leave a ‘void’ which ‘cannot be filled’ and offered his condolences to the families of the victims.
A road trip to Forrest Caves Beach on Phillip Island ended in tragedy after relatives Kirti Bedi, 20, (pictured) and her friends
Melbourne student Suhani Anand, 20, also drowned
Reema Sondhi, 42, (pictured) was visiting Melbourne from India. She leaves behind two children
Elderly nurse Jagjeet Singh, 23, died with her friends on Phillip Island
‘I understand that deep down we are all hurt. We can feel the grief and we send our sincere condolences to these families who have suffered a loss,” he said, sharing his speech in English.
“Grief is the price of our love for someone,” he said, which is a famous quote from Queen Elizabeth II.
He also thanked Victoria Police and the authorities who ‘stood by the family who have suffered a loss during these difficult times’.
After the final prayer, loved ones were encouraged to pay their last respects by placing flower petals in the open caskets.
Before the service, friends of the victims’ family raised nearly $82,000 in a GoFundMe.
Funds were used to help pay for funeral expenses and flights to secure return flights to bring immediate family members from India to Melbourne.
On Thursday, hundreds of guests gathered at Bunurong Memorial Park at Dandenong South in Melbourne’s southeast to say goodbye
Before the service, friends of the victims’ family raised nearly $82,000 in a GoFundMe
During a speech at the service, which was held mainly in Hindi and Punjabi, a friend of the family said: ‘Grief is the price of our love for someone,’ a famous quote from Queen Elizabeth II.
In an update shared by Ms Sondhi’s sister, Ankur Chabra, also said the cremated ashes would be “taken back to their respective places back to India”.
‘Thank you all for supporting (sic),’ she wrote in a post shared on Tuesday.
‘You have all been with me like my family. I have no words to express. My thanks to you.’
Forrest Caves Beach, where the drowning happened, is known for being a notoriously difficult swimming spot with dangerous rips and rough surf.
When emergency services arrived, Mr Singh, Ms Bedi and Ms Sondhi were dead at the scene.
Anand was sent to Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital in a critical condition; however, she died a day later.
Forrest Caves Beach, where the drowning happened, is known to be a notoriously difficult swimming spot with dangerous rips and rough surf
When emergency services arrived, Mr Singh, Ms Bedi and Ms Sondhi were dead at the scene.
Anand was sent to Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital in a critical condition; however, she died a day later
At the time of the tragic incident, Ms Sondhi had traveled from India to Melbourne to visit her brother’s family in Clyde. She leaves behind two children, both of whom live in India.
A trained nurse, Singh was described by the organizers of the GoFundMe campaign as possessing a ‘heart of gold’.
Mrs. Anand and Mrs. Sondhi were both nursing students