A man whose wife and nine-year-old son died in Loch Lomond at the weekend has told how he desperately tried to save them, despite being unable to swim.
Waris Ali’s wife, Edina Olahova, 29, their son, Rana Haris Ali, and family friend, 39-year-old Muhammad Asim Riaz all died in the incident at Ardlui on Saturday.
Mr Asim’s seven-year-old son remains in hospital.
Mr Waris described how he threw his shirt to his wife to grab hold of.
He told the BBC: “When I came out from the water, I could see my wife’s hand. I tried to pull off my shirt and give it to her to catch but she couldn’t.”
None of the group, apart from Mr Asim, could swim.
Mr Waris, who lives in the Govan area of Glasgow, said they were returning from a holiday on the Isle of Skye when they decided to take a break at Loch Lomond.
He said the children were playing at the end of the pier when the son of his friend put his foot into the water and fell in.
Mr Waris said the water appeared to be shallow and safe but quickly became deep.
His son and the adults went into the water in a bid to save the other child but soon got into difficulties. A passer-by also helped and saved Mr Asim’s son.
Paying tribute to his wife, Mr Waris said she was “very caring and very nice”. He said his son was “very happy” and added that Mr Asim was a very good person and “like my brother”.
He called for signs to be put near the water to warn people it was quite deep there.
There were a total of six deaths in lochs and rivers at the weekend.
An 11-year-old boy died in a river near Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire, on Saturday and a 13-year-old boy died after getting into difficulties in the River Clyde at Hazelbank near Lanark on the same day.
A 16-year-old boy died near the pier at Balloch Country Park on Friday.
Deputy Assistant Chief Officer Alasdair Perry, from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, said: “This is the worst weekend in relation to incidents of this nature that I can remember.”
Emergency services were alerted to the Ardlui incident at about 18:40 on Saturday following “reports of concern” for people in the water.
How to ‘float to live’ if you fall into water
The RNLI say there are five steps to know how to float:
- If you fall in the water, fight your instinct to thrash around
- Lean back, extend your arms and legs
- If you need to, gently move them around to help you float
- Float until you can control your breathing
- Only then, call for help or swim to safety.
Find out more about the RNLI’s “float to live” campaign
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described the deaths as “heart-breaking human tragedies”.
She said: “Like everyone else around the country, my thoughts are with the families who are grieving loved ones right now.
“It is unimaginable and impossible for the rest of us to understand fully what they are going through.
“These tragedies over the weekend are a really brutal reminder that the beauty of some of our waters often belies the dangers that they hold.”