Indian student dies in Canada; consulate extends support to bereaved family

VANCOUVER: An Indian student studying at the University of Calgary in Canada has died, the Consulate General of India in Vancouver said on Thursday.

The Consulate expressed deep sorrow over the incident, saying it was “saddened by the sudden demise” of the student, identified as Tanya Tyagi. “We are saddened by the sudden demise of Ms Tanya Tyagi, an Indian student at University of Calgary”, the Consulate said in a post on X.

It further added, “The Consulate is in touch with the authorities and will provide all required assistance to the bereaved family. Our heartfelt condolences & prayers are with his family & friends of the deceased”. More details are awaited.

In March this year, a 20-year-old Indian citizen and permanent US resident from Chantilly, studying at Pittsburgh University, was reported missing while on vacation in the Dominican Republic. She was last seen on March 6.

“The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) is actively assisting in the investigation of a missing college student on vacation in the Dominican Republic. Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old female from Chantilly and a student at the University of Pittsburgh, was reported missing on Thursday, March 6, 2025,” according to Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office’s official statement.

“Konanki, a citizen of India, is a permanent resident of the United States and was reported to be vacationing with five female college friends at a resort in Punta Cana,” it added. According to sources, she disappeared while walking on the beach at a hotel in Punta Cana, La Altagracia province, east of the Dominican Republic.

The LCSO was working closely with our federal partners at the US Department of State, FBI, DEA, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), as well as the University of Pittsburgh police, to support the ongoing investigation by the Dominican National Police.

According to Spanish media sources, “Last seen on March 6, 2025, at 4:50 am on the beach of the Riu Punta Cana Hotel,” says the image, which includes a portrait of the young Hindu woman. According to the file, Sudiksha has black hair and brown eyes.

She was last seen wearing a brown two-piece bikini, large round earrings, a metal anklet on her right leg, yellow and steel bracelets on her right hand and another multi-coloured bracelet on her left hand, the sources added. (ANI)