Journalist Mark Deitch. Photo: www.02varvara.wordpress.com.

Tragedy struck the Russian Jewish community earlier this week when renowned journalist Mark Deitch drowned in Bali, Indoensia while trying to save a young girl who had been ripped out to sea by a strong current.

“We were on a holiday in Indonesia with kids and friends,” Deitch’s wife Ksenia said. “My husband took the daughter of our friends to swim in the ocean. Not far, just a dozen meters off the shore. There was a very strong current there, strong waves, and the ocean itself is quite unpredictable.  They must have been knocked down by a wave and dragged out into the open ocean. I rushed off to call for lifeguards. Meanwhile, my husband managed to push the girl to the shore. She was saved. But when he was pulled out it was already too late.”

Following Deitch’s death, Russian authorities were in communication with their embassy in Jakarta and an honorary counsel in Bali to assist his family with arrangements.

The 67 year old was a prominent anti-Soviet journalist before the fall of communism and worked for Radio Liberty, among other news outlets in Russia.