Saudi students honoured by homeland for US rescue effort

WILBRAHAM, Mass. – Two Saudi Arabian college students who drowned while trying to save two young children struggling in a Massachusetts river have been honoured by their home country for their heroism.

The Republican newspaper, citing a statement from the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington, reports that Theeb Alyami and Jaser Daham Alrakah have been posthumously awarded the Order of King Abdulaziz of the First Degree for their bravery.

Massachusetts authorities say the men jumped into the Chicopee River in Wilbraham on June 29 to rescue two young children having trouble. The children survived but the students were swept away by the currents and drowned.

Alrakah was a student at Western New England University in Springfield. Alyami attended the University of Hartford in Connecticut. The men, who were cousins, were both studying engineering.

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Information from: The Springfield (Mass.) Republican, http://www.masslive.com/news/