Theeb Al-Yami and Jaser Al-Rakah drowned while saving two children in US Families meet the bodies at Najran Airport JEDDAH: The bodies of two students who drowned while saving children in a US river arrived back to Saudi Arabia on Sunday. The families of Theeb Al-Yami, 27, and Jaser Al-Rakah, 25, were at Najran Airport to receive their bodies, Saudi Press Agency reported. The cousins have been praised as heroes after they swam to the aid of two children fighting to stay afloat in the Chicopee River in Massachusetts. But the two students, who were studying at universities in the US, were swept away by strong currents. The children managed to return to shore. A number of officials were present at Najran Airport to receive the bodies and express the Kingdom’s condolences to their families. 
Emir of Najran, Prince Jalawi Bin Abdulaziz Bin Musaed, said the official presence came upon directives from King Salman in a show of the Saudi leadership’s keenness to support and comfort citizens during hard times. 
The families expressed their gratitude to the Saudi king and the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as the kingdom’s embassy in Washington for the help they had provided. 
They said they were “proud of their martyr son,” SPA reported. 
The cousins were on a road trip when they found the frantic mother last Friday and rushed to the scene to help.
 Other onlookers also tried to help, but strong currents prevented them from securing the children.