A 20-year-old MSU student died Sunday when he drowned in Lake Michigan, officials from the Muskegon Police Department said.

Jiang Wei Lim, a computer science and engineering senior and international student, was spending the weekend at a friend's home. He is remembered by others as being kind, compassionate and thoughtful.

"He was generally a very, very nice and intelligent person," alumnus Aaron VanDeKoppel said. "He was extremely thoughtful and logical - a very sweet kid. I can never picture him doing anything wrong.

"A lot of us on the floor would play video games together and hang out. Every time we had some floor trip he was there - he would always be there hanging out with us."

Tyler DeBruler, a telecommunication, information studies and media senior, said Lim was a good friend who always wanted to participate in activities with his friends.

"He enjoyed just relaxing and hanging out with his friends," DeBruler said. "He was a really nice and passionate person. He was a very social type of person."

Lim, who was staying at VanDeKoppel's home, went to the beach with friends on Sunday morning, VanDeKoppel said. Lim entered the water despite a red flag warning, meaning swimming conditions were rough.

"Sunday was really hot so we decided to go to the public beach," VanDeKoppel said. "There was no lifeguard on duty - that is what the flags were for."

When Lim and another friend were pulled out into the lake by an undertow, his friends on the shore began to get nervous, VanDeKoppel said. Lim wasn't visible from the shore, so someone on the beach contacted the police who began an immediate search for him.

"The police were there really quick and there were boats out looking for him," VanDeKoppel said. "The divers were having trouble looking for him because the current was that strong."

After about 20 minutes, Lim's body was discovered on the shore. An officer attempted to conduct CPR on Lim but was unsuccessful.

Because Lim died under accidental circumstances, the police are conducting a brief investigation, Muskegon police Capt. John Workman said.

"The investigation will not be concluded until after the autopsy," he said, adding Lim's body is being held at Lansing's Sparrow Hospital. "Lim was not a strong swimmer and by all reports at this time he was pulled away from the undertow."

The group of friends didn't consume alcohol that morning, VanDeKoppel said.

Following the autopsy, Lim's body will be cremated and taken back to Malaysia by his father, who is flying into the area, VanDeKoppel said.

Kris Turner can be reached at turne112@msu.edu.