Houston: A 24-year-old Indian student who died after he was rescued from a swollen lake in the hurricane-hit US state of Texas, has been cremated here. Nikhil Bhatia, a PhD student at the Texas A&M University, was rescued from the Lake Bryan, where he along with another Indian woman student Shalini Singh had gone swimming, last Saturday.

According to their friends and some witnesses, the two were swimming in the lake when a sudden current of water pushed them deeper.

Bhatia, from Jaipur, along with Singh, 25, from New Delhi, was admitted to a hospital in a critical condition.

Bhatia died on Wednesday while Singh continues to be in a critical condition, according to officials at the Indian Consulate here.

Funeral of Bhatia took place yesterday in the presence of his mother and close friends.

According to the consulate office, Bhatia’s mother Suman Bhatia will returning to India on September 4 and will carry his ashes with her. — PTI

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