Md Saifuzzaman (left) and Abdullah Hil Rakib Abdullah Hil Rakib, managing director of TEAM Group, and his close friend Md Saifuzzaman, a pilot of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, drowned after a boating accident on Sturgeon Lake in Canada on Sunday, reports bdnews24.com.
In a statement on Monday, Biman said that Captain Saifuzzaman, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner pilot, died at 3:06pm local time on Sunday.
Expressing deep condolences, the flag carrier said its Toronto office is in close contact with the Bangladesh High Commission in Canada to bring Saifuzzaman's body back to Bangladesh in accordance with the family's wishes.
Meanwhile, Rakib's death was confirmed by former Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Director Mohiuddin Rubel. Rakib himself had previously served as a senior vice president of the BGMEA.
On Sunday, Saifuzzaman and Rakib drowned when their canoe capsized on Sturgeon Lake, adjacent to a cottage in the scenic town of Lindsay in Ontario.
Saifuzzaman had flown to Toronto with his wife and younger daughter for a vacation and to visit his elder daughter, who is studying at a university in Toronto.
From there, they travelled to Lindsay, about 130km away, and checked into a cottage. In the afternoon, Saifuzzaman, Rakib, and Rakib's son Mahir set out on a canoe onto the lake.
As the canoe glided across the calm water, Saifuzzaman's wife and younger daughter filmed the scene from the shore with a mobile phone. Suddenly, the canoe flipped over.
Mahir managed to swim ashore, but Saifuzzaman and Rakib did not return. Rescuers later recovered both bodies, but neither had survived.
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