Newcomer to Saskatoon drowns at Lake Diefenbaker while trying to help others whose inflatable boat had gotten stranded in Lake Diefenbaker
Raza Aziz had recently moved to Canada from Peshawar, Pakistan, and was a newcomer in Saskatoon.
Outlook RCMP received a report at about 8:40 p.m. Saturday of a drowning on Lake Diefenbaker, according to a police news release. Police, as well as Outlook and Elbow fire rescue personnel, began search efforts. They found Aziz’s body at about 7:15 a.m. Sunday.
The Saskatchewan Coroners Service also attended the scene and ordered an autopsy. Police said their preliminary investigation indicated there was no criminality involved.
Abdul Majeed Qureshi was recently travelled from Calgary to help Aziz and his family set up their household.
“The fact that he died in helping somebody else, died in service of humanity, that shows you what kind of person he was,” Abdul Majeed Qureshi, a relative of Raza Aziz said.
“Whoever has seen him, they can’t forget how charming, how helpful, how cheerful he was. May Allah bless him. He was a very nice person.”
Muneeb Khan, Friend of Aziz’s, knew him from Pakistan.
“My words cannot do justice to his character. He was a selfless person. If there was someone whom I could trust above anything, he was the one,” Muneeb said.
“He was the shoulder to cry upon. He was one of the best guys out there. I was lucky to know Raza.”
Muneeb said his last interaction with Aziz was the day before he drowned.
Aziz was struggling financially and had lost some of his money when he landed in Saskatoon, Muneeb said. He started a GoFundMe page on behalf of the family and urged people to donate to the campaign.
“The world lost a hero,” he said.
Hanan Khan another Friend of Aziz, whose wife was among the women on the boat, was at the scene Saturday evening.
He said Aziz was a dear friend and the two were planning on starting a business together. He said Aziz wanted to be a Canadian citizen and was “a fighter doing two jobs.”
“Raza was a gem. We used to meet every other day. I have never seen a precious person like him,” he said. “He came to this country with dreams. We used to often discuss our future plans.”
Hanan said Aziz was a good swimmer but was oblivious to the weeds in the water.
“I saw him getting entangled and he was struggling beneath the water. He was saying, ‘I am getting stuck,’ ” Hanan said. “I couldn’t do anything. That was the last time I saw him. I can never forget that image.”
