[Updated May 1] Authorities Locate Body Of Swarthmore Student In Duke Study Abroad Program
The student was pulled out to sea while swimming off the coast of Costa Rica.
The body of a Swarthmore College student who was part of the Organization for Tropical Studies/Duke University's Global Health program in Costa Rica this semester was found Tuesday morning.
In an email to Swarthmore students, President Rebecca Chopp said sophomore Ravi Thackurdeen and another student in the program were swimming off the coast of Tortuga Beach Sunday when they were pulled out to sea. The friend made it back to shore, but Thackurdeen's body was not located until Tuesday morning. (A copy of President Chopp's email to the Swarthmore community is posted here.)
Search and rescue efforts involving the Costa Rican Red Cross with support from the U.S. Embassy went into effect after Thackurdeen could not be located.
"We are all very upset by this news, and our thoughts and prayers are with the young man's family and friends and with the entire Swarthmore community," Margaret Riley, assistant vice provost for undergraduate global education at Duke, said on Monday.
The study abroad program in Costa Rica is providing counseling for students, and "all assistance possible to the family," Riley said. The course is scheduled to end Tuesday.