An online fundraising campaign has collected over $19,000 out of 25,000 needed to cover the cost of sending Mohammed Abdul Junaid’s body to his family in India.
The 28-year-old Pharmacy student who lost his life in a drowning incident on Moonee Beach near Coffs Harbour in New South Wales was on a holiday with his extended family when the incident occurred on December 17th which also claimed the lives of two of his accompanying relatives.
While bodies of Junaid’s kin-45-year-old Mohammad Ghouseuddin and 35-year-old Syed Rahath, both from Sydney were pulled from the unpatrolled beach immediately after the mishap, Junaid’s body was recovered only two days later. 
The three adults originally from the southern Indian state of Telangana jumped into the water when three of their families’ teenage children all aged between 13 and 17 started drowning in the deeper portions of the scenic beach.
45-year-old Mohammad Ghouseuddin and 35-year-old Syed Rahath, both from Auburn in Sydney were pulled from the surf but were unable to be revived. Source: Nine Network
While all three children were rescued and later rushed to the hospital, the adults could not be saved. 
In the fundraiser, posted on GoFundMe platform, Junaid’s cousin Shahbaz Mohammed has appealed to people for help and financial support needed to send Junaid’s body back to his parents in Hyderabad and to further assist them in covering the funeral costs.
Snapshot of the GoFundMe petition posted by Junaid's cousin Source: GoFundMe/Facebook
The online petition which was set up three days ago is currently only $5,364 short of its target.
Initially, the fundraiser was set up to collect $5,000 but the target was later raised after the family received an overwhelming response from the donators, informed Mr Mohammed.
Meanwhile, Ghouseuddin and Rahath were given proper burials by their respective families in Australia.
The Moonee beach drowning incident is just one of a large number of drownings that have cost international students, foreign visitors and migrants their lives in Australia.
According to the National Drownings Report, one in four people drowning in Australian waters over the past decade were born overseas.
International students were the fourth-largest category when it came to drownings, with recent arrivals and tourists being the other leading categories.
Royal Life Saving Australia runs water-safety programmes around the country specifically targeting migrants and international students to avoid such incidents.
The programmes focus on providing swimming lessons, water-safety instructions and knowledge of appropriate beach behaviour.
