Funeral held for lake friends
Mourners from all over the world descended on the Black Country today and two secondary schools were closed for the funeral of three young friends who drowned in the Lake District.
Coachloads of people poured into Wolverhampton from across the whole country while dozens more flew in from India as police, community support officers and stewards were deployed to deal with crowds.
The bodies of 15-year-old Harvinder Singh, Satvir Singh, aged 17, and 21-year-old Tajinder Singh were taken to the Guru Nanak Gurdwara Sikh Temple in Blakenhall, Wolverhampton.
The two schools attended by Harvinder and Satvir, Highfields Science Specialist School and Colton Hills Community School, were closed as a mark of respect and pupils turned out in their hundreds to pay their last respects.
Cars lined the streets of Blakenhall and among the thousands gathering at the temple, there was a silent and sombre mood.
Prayers were led by a representative of the temple and a single line was formed by mourners.
They slowly and quietly filed past the coffins of the three young men, which in keeping with Sikh traditions had been opened so that their bodies could be viewed for the last time.
After the service, the bodies of Harvinder and Satvir will be taken to Bushbury Crematorium.
Tajinder's body will be flown back to his homeland, India, tomorrow.
The friends were on a weekend trip to Ullswater on September 23 when tragedy struck.
It is believed Satvir, of Rosemary Crescent, Goldthorn Park, had been struggling in the lake and Harvinder, of Marston Road, Blakenhall, and Tajinder Singh of Mason Street, Blakenhall, rushed in to help him.
Onlookers said that within minutes they too "were just gone".
See also: Tributes to hero schoolboy, Anger over lack of warning signs, Three die in lake tragedy
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