NEW YORK -- A newly married couple from New York drowned on their honeymoon at a Caribbean resort, family members said.
Corporate attorney Mohammad Malik, 35, and his bride, Dr. Noor Shah, 29, were swimming near their Turks and Caicos Islands resort on Oct. 28 when they were pulled under by strong riptides, R. Maqbool Malik, the groom's father, told Newsday.
Witnesses pulled the couple from the water and performed CPR, but they died at the scene, the bereaved father said.
The pair had married four days earlier in East Meadow, New York.
"It's a devastating loss," Malik said. "This is a shock beyond belief. And it's a tragedy of different dimensions when you have to lay two children to rest in a joint funeral."
A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department confirmed the deaths.
Malik criticized the resort, Como Parrot Cay, for failing to post warning signs about potentially dangerous riptides. Chris Orlikowski, a spokesperson for Como Hotels and Resorts, said in a statement Tuesday that company officials are "deeply saddened by the tragic accident." He said the company is co-operating with the investigation.
