Dad drowns after saving daughter
A Delta man died on Father’s Day after diving in to save his daughter who had slipped into a waterfall near Kelowna.
Kashif Sheikh, 46, and a father of four, was able to rescue his daughter after she fell into the water near the Mill Creek waterfall east of Kelowna around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The girl was able to get to shore, but her father wasn’t.
Bystanders were able to pull Sheikh from the water and began CPR before paramedics, who arrived after a 911 call, took over.
“Despite the best efforts of everyone involved, the 46-year-old man could not be resuscitated and passed away,” said Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy of the Kelowna RCMP.
“RCMP Victim Services is providing support to the witnesses and the victim’s family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his loved ones during this difficult time.”
Raza Khan, a friend of Sheikh’s for more than 10 years, said Monday he was heartbroken for the family
“He’s a very nice guy,” Khan said. “He was such a nice person, he was very lively, very outgoing, loves his kids. They were the centre of his universe.”
Khan said the family — his wife and their two sons and two daughters — had gone to Kelowna on Saturday for a short weekend trip.
“It was Father’s Day, they went for a drive, he wanted to have a good time,” he said.
Sheikh worked as a mortgage broker for Nationwide Realty in Surrey and also worked for the Canadian Air Transport Security
Authority at Vancouver airport.
“A couple days ago we were together, we shared a lot of things together,” Khan said. “We were good friends, we talked a lot about things he wanted to do. He was such a good guy, the community knows him and his good works, a very loving father. He was always at the front of the line to help.”
Nationwide Realty paid tribute to Sheikh in a Facebook post.
“RIP. You are a true hero and will always be remembered in our hearts,” they said.
Ashraf Maitla said he was a great friend. “He was such a jolly person,” said Maitla, who is working with the B.C. Muslim Association to help Sheikh’s family return his body to the Lower Mainland.
He said both father and daughter were decent swimmers.
Many of Sheikh’s friends paid tribute to him on social media.
“A great human being, a strong supporter ... and a very good friend,” one person said.
“This is really heartbreaking news which shattered the whole community,” the individual wrote.
The B.C. Coroners Service and the RCMP are investigating.