BEST friends Mosese Mamafainoa and Laisenia Tuitubou travelled to Sigatoka from Suva for their former Queen Victoria School classmate Tevita Kuruilagi’s 21st birthday party.
They had important roles to play at the event, one was master of ceremony while the other was in charge of the music. They were a close group of friends. They shared similar interests and were civil engineering students at the Fiji National University.
The duo lost their lives while trying to rescue a classmate who was battling strong currents. Tevita’s aunt, Mili Ratu, said her nephew was devastated by the loss. She said the young men were scheduled to return to Suva yesterday.
The two friends were enjoying an afternoon swim on Sunday when they heard the call for help from another friend.
“They were swimming with their friends and everything happened so quickly,” she said. “It all happened within the space of half an hour and by the time we were alerted, people were already trying to look for them in the river because they had disappeared.
“We had to call the police and after their search, they found them in the same place where they had disappeared underwater.” She said the family was still in shock. “Yesterday was supposed to be a happy day for us because we had just celebrated my nephew’s birthday. “He is devastated because he has lost two of his best friends.”
