By Ahmed Farraj

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

NAJRAN — The bodies of two Saudi scholarship students in the United States who died while saving two drowning children were laid to rest at Al-Yassin cemetery in Najran on Sunday.

A large crowd of mourners attended the funeral prayer at the city's Al-Mansoura Mosque before the burial.

Theeb Man’aa Al-Rakah Al-Yami, 27, and his cousin Jasser Daham Al-Rakah Al-Yami, 25,

drowned in the Chicopee River in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, while trying to rescue two American children who were being swept away in the river on June 29.

Najran Emir Prince Jalawi Bin Abdulaziz Bin Musaed along with other senior ranking government officials from the province received the bodies of the two students at the airport earlier in the day.

The parents of the young martyrs thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque King Salman who ordered the two bodies to be flown to the Kingdom for burial. They also thanked Najran’s emir and his deputy for the support extended to them. The parents also expressed their appreciation to Saudi Ambassador to Washington Prince Khalid Bin Salman for the assistance provided by the Saudi Embassy.

Awad Al-Yami, a relative to the two students, said Theeb and Jasser were studying civil engineering in the US for the past five years and were about to graduate in a couple of weeks. Theeb was studying at Hartford University while Jasser was studying at Western University of New England.

Their families had not seen them during the past three years and had been waiting for their graduation and their eventual return to Saudi Arabia. The last contact between the two young men and their families came two days before their ill-fated death.

Awad said that the family found out about the incident from one of their brothers who is also studying in the US and who received the tragic news from an American fellow student.

He said their families were having a difficult time but they have said they were taking solace that their children died as martyrs and heroes as they drowned while trying to rescue children.

Awad revealed the details of how the young Saudis rescued the children. He told al-Arabiya.net that his brother Theeb and his cousin Jasser were on a trip near the Chicopee River.

They saw the two American children drowning and their mother attempting to rescue them in vain. Immediately, the two young Saudis jumped into the river, wrestling with the heavy currents.

Awad said while they could save the two children, they failed to beat the current and survive. The strong current swept his brother away, which made Jasser try to rescue his cousin but unfortunately they were both carried away and drowned.

The authorities were informed and the state’s diving team and rescue helicopters searched the river for several hours. The body of one of the young Saudis was pulled out Friday night while the search for the second body continued until it was found on Monday.

Theeb and Jasser are being hailed as heroes for their act and are being fondly remembered by relatives and friends alike.

Condolences poured in from all across Saudi Arabia and the United States, including from the US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, who issued a statement expressing heartfelt condolences.

“The young men drowned while courageously attempting to save children in distress. Their heroism represents the very best of the international students who enrich communities across the United States. Theeb and Jasser were among the 52,000 Saudi students studying in the United States who bring greater international understanding and diverse perspectives to US campuses and communities, and to Saudi Arabia when they return home,” the statement read.

Awad pointed out that the two young men had high hopes and a vision for the future, and they were always in touch with their families by telephone and weekly via video chat on Snapchat. Awad explained that his brother Theeb is third in the family and Jasser is second in his family. He stated that the two young Saudis were due to return home and marry, but fate had other plans, as he said.

The American media, which had a wide coverage about the heroic act of the two young Saudis, reported that the city hall and universities where they studied were looking into honoring and commemorating their life. — with input from Al-Arabiya English