A CHATSWORTH man has relived how he survived a near-drowning incident while his brother and nephew lost their lives in the tragedy at Umzumbe Beach in Hibberdene on Saturday.
Well-known metro policeman, Asif Khan, 36, drowned when he attempted to save his nephew, Amaan.
By today, Amaan, 13, was still missing at sea and was presumed drowned.
Ridwaan Khan, 40, of Croftdene, said five of his family members were swimming when they were caught in a rip current.
Khan suffered a near-drowning and was unconscious. He has since been discharged from hospital and undergoing further treatment for his injuries.
He said his brother, Asif, sister, Farzana, 42, and their families had cooked a pot of breyani and went to the beach for a day out.
Khan said he recalled being in the water with Amaan and his other nephew, Taariq, 16.
“We were playing in the water, which was calm. I suddenly heard a family member, who was standing on the shore, scream for help. I turned around and saw Amaan and Taariq being pulled into the rip current.
“Within seconds, I saw Asif swimming towards Amaan. The water was vigorously sweeping us in all directions. Asif was trying to hold Amaan above the water. But I could see that he was struggling as he was taking in too much water,” said Khan.
“One of the surfers threw a floating device in Asif’s direction. They did not see me in the water and the floater hit my head. When I looked up again, I saw that Asif had let go of Amaan. They were torn apart by the current. Amaan could not be seen. Fortunately, Taariq was rescued by the surfers. I was unconscious and taken to shore where I was resuscitated and then taken to hospital,” added Khan.
“When I regained consciousness, it was Saturday afternoon. At this point I did not know that my brother had died. I believed that everyone survived, like me.
“On Sunday, my family broke the news to me and told me that my nephew was still missing. I cannot explain how I feel. I did not even go to my brother’s funeral,” he said.
He said with Amaan’s body not recovered, their family was struggling to come to terms with the tragedy.
“My mom and sister are struggling the most. Asif and Amaan were our two favourites in the family. They shared a close bond.
“In all family get-togethers, they were always together, even in photographs. They were both cricket fanatics. Amaan played for the KZN Dolphins Cricket Team, and we were all very proud of him,” Khan said.
Amaan’s father, Saleem Adam, said he was also in the water and watched helplessly as the rip current pulled his son out to sea.
“I was not close enough to help him. Everyone was frantic. Asif tried to save him, but he too got into difficulty. We managed to pull him out and despite resuscitation efforts, he passed on. The surfers were helping Amaan, but they too lost sight of him,” said Adam.
“We are thankful to the Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) for helping us search for Amaan’s body. We know there is a slim chance that he may have survived this. But if he did not, then we need to at least find his body,” said Adam.
Asif’s wife, Amaarah, said she and her children, aged 12 and 1 – were struggling to cope with the death of her husband.
“He did everything he could to try and save our nephew. He died a hero,” she said.