Jeff Quigley
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2004
- Messages
- 109
It's always sad to see this happen. I saw the search helicopter while on the water Monday afternoon. I often see people on the lake who rent boats and head on out. Not sure exactly what caused this, but sometimes I wonder if everyone renting these boats have any idea what to do in the event of an emergency like this one. This is a cut and paste from the Toronto Star's website.<br /><br />------------------------------------------<br /><br />Shock as 2 drown on lake<br />Hero saved his cousin<br /><br />By BRETT CLARKSON, TORONTO SUN<br /> <br /><br />A HERO father of two, drowned after rescuing his panicked cousin during a birthday fishing trip to Lake Scugog on Monday, family members say. <br /><br />Another relative, Mohammad Ashraf, 44, an uncle of the two men, was still missing and presumed drowned last night. <br /><br />Asim Khan, 31, died after jumping in the lake to save his cousin, Basit Khan, 25, who started screaming for help while swimming about five metres from two boats the family had rented from Port Perry Marina. <br /><br />Ashraf dove in to rescue Asim, who lost consciousness after dragging Basit to safety. <br /><br />Neither Asim nor his missing uncle wore lifejackets, although Basit did have one. <br /><br />"He's a very, very caring person," another uncle, Imtiaz Khan, 36, said yesterday of Asim, outside the dead man's home on Kaitlin Dr. in Richmond Hill. "Just ask him for something and he'll help you in any way he can. He's a very sweet person, very well-educated." <br /><br />The family had gathered to celebrate because Monday was Asim's 31st birthday. He is survived by his wife, Sadaf, and their two children, Abdul Samad, six months, and Aleeza, 3. <br /><br />"He died because of trying to save somebody's life," Imtiaz Khan said. "He just jumped (in the water) to save somebody else's life without thinking of his own. He's a hero to me." <br /><br />Yesterday, the family was planning for a visitation service for Asim today at Nugget Mosque in Scarborough. Asim's body will be flown back to his native Pakistan for burial later this week, the uncle said, adding that Asim's mother, Feroza Begum, still lives in Pakistan. <br /><br />The 31-year-old software engineer was pronounced dead at Lakeridge Health in Port Perry. <br /><br />Ashraf came to Canada as a refugee from Karachi, Pakistan, just over a month ago, Imtiaz Khan said. <br /><br />Durham police will be back on the lake today to search for Ashraf, who had been living in Etobicoke. His wife is still in Pakistan, Imtiaz said, adding last night the family was hoping for a "miracle" and that Ashraf would turn up soon.