Indian students reportedly swept into water while taking photographs at Omanawa Falls

Bay of Plenty Times

23 Apr, 2018 06:57 PM2 mins to read

Family, friends and classmates of the missing man were given a moment to say goodbye as the body recovered from the pool was taken from the scene.

The Indian student who died at Omanawa Falls in the Bay of Plenty has been named as Kishore Kumar, with reports saying he was with a group taking photos at the scenic spot before tragedy struck.

Police are working to formally identify the body found by police divers in the pool at the base of Omanawa Falls yesterday.

An international Waikato University student was reported missing while visiting the falls with two friends on Sunday.

He been named by Indian media as Kishore Kumar, 27, who a friend said came to New Zealand in November last year.

The Indian Weekender reported Kumar and his two friends were taking pictures at the falls when a sudden rush of water pulled them in.

One friend was able to get out of the water and raise the alarm, and the other had to be winched out by a rescue helicopter, the Weekender reported.

A police spokeswoman, said police understood "the group got into the water by themselves".

"It is for the Coroner to establish the exact circumstances that led to this death," she said.

Family, friends and classmates of the missing man were given a moment to say goodbye as the body recovered from the pool was taken from the scene. PHOTO/JOHN BORREN

Another Indian media outlet, Indian News Link, reported Kishore's father Aravindan Viswanathan in Chennai saying he has lost his "most precious possession".

"Kishore was everything to us. He was a bright boy and we had hoped that he would return home after completing his postgraduate [Masters[ study at the University of Waikato and that we would all be together again.

"It has been a shock. My wife has not been able to recover since she heard the tragic news," he said.