JEDDAH, 9 August 2005 — Two men lost their lives when they tried to save a nine-year-old girl from drowning in a swimming pool of a villa near the King Fahd Hospital in Jeddah last Thursday.
The victims of the tragedy, both Indians, have been identified as Syed Kamal Husaini Hashmi, 32, from Hyderabad and Mohiuddin Basha Siraj Madani, 42, from Coimbatore but living in Hyderabad.
Kamal worked for Al-Naghi Group and Siraj for Gedex Couriers and Movers. The two were buried in Makkah on Sunday.
Syed Saleem Qadri, their relative, told Arab News that it happened when the girl who was using a buoyancy device slipped through it at a point where the water was 12 feet deep.
As she was struggling in the water, Kamal and Siraj dived into the pool to rescue the girl.
Even though both knew how to swim, they did not know how to rescue a drowning person.
The state of panic and confusion created a situation in which the women relatives of the girl were able to save her with a water hose. Unfortunately, Kamal and Siraj lost their lives, Saleem Qadri said.
He said India’s Consul General Ausaf Sayeed had dispatched members of his staff for extending all help to the relatives of the victims.
“The girl is in a state of shock and deep sorrow as her father and uncle died while trying to save her,” he added. The tragedy has sent shock waves through the local Indian community.
