Man loses wife, son and friend in Loch Lomond drowning tragedy

TRIBUTES have been paid for a woman, her son and a family friend who died in Loch Lomond last Saturday (24). Waris Ali, who lost his family and his friend, revealed how he tried in vain to save his drowning wife.

Edina Olahova, 29, and Rana

Haris Ali, 9, lost their lives alongside their family friend Muhammad Asim Riaz, 41, near Pulpit Rock last Saturday evening.

Riaz’s seven-year-old son is in intensive care at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.

“The family is heartbroken at the death of our charming young boy in what was a tragic drowning accident on Saturday. Haris Ali was the loveliest little boy,” a statement on behalf of Rana and Olahova’s family, said.

Ali said his wife, son and family friends, including their children, decided to stop off at the beach on their way back from the Isle of Skye. Pictures taken hours before the incident show the two families laughing as they posed for the camera near the banks of the loch. He said they sat on a pier and the youngsters went into the water, thinking it was shallow, but then they “went under”.

Seeing the children struggling in water, Olahova and Riaz also went into the water, Ali said.

“I managed to stay afloat and head towards the shallow water, but when I got out, I saw my wife’s hands outside and just her eyes out of the water,” Sky News quoted Ali in a report.

Ali said a Scottish man also tried but could save only Riaz’s son and could not save the other three. “Asim was my best friend, he was my family,” Ali said.