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Police recover body of university student who drowned in North Thompson River in Kamloops

RCMP say the 23-year-old man’s family lives in India
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(Black Press Media file photo)

—Kamloops This Week

Kamloops RCMP say the body of a 23-year-old university student has been recovered after the man was swept away in the North Thompson River early Friday morning.

Staff Sgt. Mathias Van Laer said drowning is believed to be the cause of death, although the BC Coroners Service is now handling the investigation.

“This appears to be nothing less than a truly tragic accident,” he said in a release to media on Saturday.

Van Laer said the student and his friends were taking photographs near the river when he stepped too far and fell from a steep embankment.

READ MORE: University mourns student who died in B.C. canoeing accident

On Friday, emergency crews were called to a section of riverbank on Chestnut Avenue in North Kamloops at about 6:30 a.m.

Police reported the man missing shortly after.

RCMP say the man’s family lives in India and are currently liaising with them.

Van Laer cautioned that with summer months approaching, anyone with little or no swimming experience should never approach water without proper safety gear and supervision.

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