Tragedy At World Games

A Special Olympics athlete who had never seen the sea before coming to America less than two weeks ago was presumed drowned on Friday, a day after he disappeared in chest-deep water at an unguarded beach.

Nepalese soccer player Ramesh Mali, 21, vanished during a team outing after a volunteer host left him to take two other athletes out of the water.

Authorities gave up hope of finding the mentally retarded man alive after more than 20 hours of searching some 18 square miles of Long Island Sound.