Manitoba

Father dies, 2 sons fighting for their lives in tragic apartment pool incident

The father who was pulled from a St. James apartment complex pool along with his two sons on Sunday has died, a community member tells CBC.

Emergency crews were called to the Courts of St. James pool Sunday evening

Ram Nivash Misra and his two sons, Shreyaan, 11, and Aarav, 10, were taken to hospital in critical condition on Sunday evening. The father passed away Monday evening and the boys are fighting for their lives, a community member says. (GoFundMe)

The father who was pulled from a St. James apartment complex pool on Sunday along with his two sons, has died, a community member has told CBC.

Ram Nivash Misra, 38, was rushed to hospital along with Shreyaan,11, and Aaram, 10, in critical condition just before 5 p.m. on Sunday from the Courts of St. James.

"The community is completely devastated, it's really tragic," said Ajay Pandey, president of the Hindu Society of Manitoba.

Misra passed away Monday night, Pandey said. The boys remain in hospital.

"They're in very very critical condition," he said. "The situation is not very promising." 

It's unclear what happened before the incident but Pandey says he was told it was an accidental drowning.

"They were found in the pool, under the water, and some [people] rushed over there, they took them out and called 911," he said.

Pandey says Misra's wife is also in hospital and is being medicated. He doesn't believe she was in the pool at the time, but is in shock.

"She is completely devastated," he said.

Emergency crews responded to a pool at the Courts of St. James apartment complex Sunday night. (Gary Solilak/CBC)

Pandey didn't know the family personally, but says he saw them at the Hindu temple on St. Anne's Road on a few occasions.

A fundraising effort has begun to help the family, who are new to Canada.

Misra came to Canada from India a little over a year ago, Pandey says, and his wife and sons joined a couple of months ago. They had just moved to the St. James apartment building at the beginning of April.

"The family needs some financial help to meet their expenses for the funeral, to pay their upcoming bills, because the breadwinner is no longer there," Pandey said

"People are shocked," he added. "But we all have to be together, we all have to help the family, and we have to move forward in this situation."