'One of us should have gone,' uncle and employer says after 2 young Winnipeg men drown at Kenora

The employer of two youngWinnipeg men who drowned in Lake of the Woods this week is urging newcomers to Canada to take extra precautions when they visit bodies of water.

PawanPreetBrar, 20, and 19-year-old ArwinderBrardied after an apparent fall into Lake of the Woods at Kenora, Ont., on Thursday.

Ontario Provincial Police initially responded to a call about swimmers in distress. OPP divers recovered thebodies of both menbyFriday.

Both young men worked at the Tux Beer Store at the Hilton Garden Inn in the Seasons of Tuxedo development. They bothimmigrated to Canada within the past six years and had little experience with lakes, said DarshanKaila, who owns the Hilton Garden Inn and isthe uncle of PawanPreetBrar.

"They were planningto go on the lake for a day. I was discouraging them.I said it was not enough time to go for a day, because it was so far," Kaila said Saturday, standing in the lobby of his South Tuxedo hotel.

"My advice is,please, all the newcomers, Iknow there is Google and youcan look for everything, you guysare smart and well-educated, but stillyou need someone's advice or somebody with you guys when you are near a lake or camping."

Kaila said Pawan Preet and ArwinderBrar went to Kenorawith five friends three other men and two women and were supposed to return in time for their shifts at the beer store on Thursday.

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Kailasaid he was told one fell in on the water while standing on loose rock near the edge of the lake. The second man fell in while trying to save him, he said.

"I don't know why they ended up there, why the two of them drowned.I still have a lot of questions," he said.

A third friend jumped in the water in an effort to save the men, but did not get more than a few metres, Kaila said.

He said he was told a bystander who was fishing also tried to save the men, but was carried by the current and wound up hospitalized.

"He barely made it," said Kaila, who is hoping to contact the bystander and thank him. "He was kindenough to jump into tryto save them. He could not do it, but he put his life in big danger."

Watch as rescue workers searched the waters aroundMcLeodPark on Thursday:

OPP in Kenora investigating possible drowning

6 years ago

Duration 0:28

OPP in Kenora investigating possible drowning

Kailasaid he has known Parwan PreetBar since his nephew was born and sponsored his family's immigration to Manitoba through the provincial nominee program.

He said he brought the family to Canada "to have a better education, have a better life [and] live in a better country."

He said his nephew was undergoing a background check to becomea Winnipeg police cadet and was in the process of choosing between that training or work as a corrections officer.

Kailaalso said Parwan PreetBrarserved an indispensable role at a wedding last weekend, when Kaila's son got married.

"It's a great loss. It's very hard on all of us and on the family," Kaila said.

"It's a loss we cannot recover.I don't know how we cancope in our life. But we're trying ourbest to pray and get help from God."

Kaila also described ArwinderBrar as an honest, hard worker.

Sumandeep Singh, who worked with both men at the Tux Beer Store, called their deaths a loss.

"I'm still in shock. Like, how has this happened?" Singh asked at the store on Saturday.

Kailasaid he regrets the fact no one with more experience with water accompanied the men to Kenora.

"Why didn't we send somebody living here longer who had knowledge of the lake and water?" he asked.

"One of us should have gone. It would not have happened. It's too late."

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