Hukkuneen teen age was non-swimmer

An 18-year-old Iranian exchange student drowned in the river at Huittinen on Friday evening, the principal of Länsi-Suomen opisto confirmed on Sunday.

The student, enrolled in a Finnish-language course at the college, was among a group of teenagers and adults who had gathered at the institution’s unsupervised riverside sauna. According to principal Sami Malinen, the victim was unable to swim.

Malinen said the teenager, born in 2008, slipped beneath the surface while others were in the sauna. Rescue efforts were immediately launched; a second teenager was pulled from the water and later discharged from hospital. Police were alerted at about 19:00 and are investigating the incident, which is not currently treated as a crime.

School staff arranged crisis support for students on Friday and held a follow-up meeting the next day. A further gathering is planned for Monday.

The college’s riverside area includes a dock and steps but no lifeguard supervision. Malinen described the river as generally calm in summer.