Tributes have been paid to a man who died after rescuing two friends in a river.
Rushabh Patel, 28, was having a picnic with his wife and 18-month-old daughter on Sunday, 24 May, at Bury Fields in Newport Pagnell, when the tragedy occurred.
After seeing his friends get into difficulty, he jumped into the River Great Ouse to help save them, but later suffered a cardiac arrest and drowned.
His wife, Mili, 30, from Milton Keynes, said that “he was a lovely husband and father who always wanted to help everyone”.
She said the family had gone out during the heatwave and “we were so happy playing with our daughter Vrumi”.
But after hearing two of their friends scream while swimming, her husband went to help.
When he got into difficulty, she said she was “unable to think” and “just hoped he would wake up and he would be OK”.
Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service said that four crews attended the incident.
In a post on social media, Thames Valley Police said on arrival, one male was receiving medical attention. He was subsequently airlifted to Milton Keynes University Hospital, where he died on 28 May.
Coroners said an inquest into Patel’s death would be opened “at some point soon”.
Mili said that their daughter Vrumi used to wake up each morning at 05:00 to see her father after he had finished his night shift as a forklift driver [Family handout]
An online fundraiser in memory of Patel has so far raised more than £40,000.
Mili said she wished that some “magic would happen and he would come back”.
His funeral takes place today at Crownhill Crematorium in Milton Keynes, and both his parents will be in attendance. He is also survived by a brother who is in India.
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