The family of a 23-year-old Canberra student who has died in hospital four days after falling from a raft on the Murrumbidgee River is seeking financial help from the ACT community to have the body transported back to Pakistan.
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Shehryaar Abbasi was floating on rafts with his cousin and a friend on the river around 4.50pm on Sunday when he fell out and disappeared underwater, police said.
The man, who was described as an inexperienced swimmer, was pulled from the water a short time later by members of the public.
They used CPR on Mr Abbasi until emergency services arrived at the scene.
He had been on a ventilator at Canberra Hospital since the incident but died on Wednesday.
His cousin, Usman Murtaza Abbasi, set up a GoFundMe campaign "to raise funds for the transportation expenses associated with sending dead body ... back to Pakistan".
"I reach out to you with a heavy heart to share the unfortunate news of the passing of our beloved 23-year-old student Mr Shehryaar Abbasi," Usman Abbasi said in the post.
![Casurina Sands. Picture by Matt Loxton Casurina Sands. Picture by Matt Loxton](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/pMXRnDj3SUU44AkPpn97sC/09b521c7-3696-4e7f-b1c6-7eb81814feb2.jpg/r0_307_3000_2000_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"He was a cherished member of our community, and his sudden departure has left us all in shock and grief."
He described how the extended Abbasi family in Pakistan had been on "an unimaginable journey of loss and grief" since losing another brother to a road accident a few years ago.
"The pain of losing a loved one is never easy, and losing two family members within such a short span has added an indescribable weight to their hearts," he said in the post.
Within hours of the campaign launch, the projected total of $40,000 had been exceeded.
Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
Anyone who witnessed the incident at Casuarina Sands on Sunday and who has not already spoken to police is urged to call 131 444 and quote reference 7607425.