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Conspicuous Cliff beach: Rescuers tell of attempts to save Shahidul Swapan and Sabrina Papri from drowning

When Elijah Iriks saw a handful of beachgoers waving desperately from a rock at the edge of the ocean in WA’s South West, his instincts told him something was wrong. So, without a second thought, he ran. “We started sprinting,” he said. “We ran to this rock ridge that extended out to try and look for who was in the water at the time.” What they saw was the start of a holiday nightmare which, despite the Iriks family’s heroic efforts, would end with the deaths of a loving, highly-respected couple who gave up their lives trying to save their now-orphaned daughter. “We could only see one person,” Mr Iriks said. “My niece swam out just a little bit ahead of me, she got to him probably about 20 seconds before. “We put the life jacket on him and we just got him back to this rock.” Mr Iriks and his niece, Safyr, tried to resuscitate the man, but the surging current at the Conspicuous Cliff beach threatened to drag them out, and there were “just too many waves”. “It was too wild, there was too much water getting in his face . . . we had to get him back (to shore),” Mr Iriks said. The pair managed, somehow, to drag the man towards the sand before starting CPR. By this point, the rest of Mr Iriks’ family, who had been in Walpole on a family holiday, had arrived at the chaotic scene. And it was chaotic. At 2.40pm on a Saturday in the middle of summer, it would usually be a casual afternoon on a secret spot along WA’s unique coastline. But, on this unforgettable Saturday, chaos turned to catastrophe even though members of the Iriks family seemed to be everywhere bravely helping those in trouble. One of Mr Iriks’ brothers raced into the water to assist his sister-in-law, Emily, who had just rescued another man, helping the pair off a rock and back to shore. It was then they realised there was a third person in the water — a woman. It has since emerged she, and the first man they pulled from the water, were Mohammad Shahidul Hasan Swapan, 44, and his wife, Sabrina Ahmed, 40. The couple had rushed into the treacherous ocean to save their 10-year-old daughter from drowning. They rescued her but, tragically, lost their lives in the process. Their friend, a 42-year-old who has not been named — and who had also tried to help them — survived. Another of Mr Iriks’ brothers, Jasir, said members of his family and loved ones of the couple performed CPR for at least 30 minutes before emergency services arrived. Heartbreakingly, the couple’s two distressed daughters watched on as those at the beach did all they could to breathe life back into the stricken parents’ lungs. “We were really focused on the CPR, it was hard to do anything else, we needed to focus on that,” Jasir said. “There were other family members there consoling the children. Nobody wanted to leave, it was just a hectic situation.” Jasir’s wife, Emma, frantically ran to nearby car park looking for someone with reception before a Good Samaritan named Michael helped call triple-0. She said a defibrillator was located far away, which eventually made it to the scene about 20 minutes into CPR. “We tried to bring the (couple’s) daughters up to their family members away from the situation,” she said. “They were very distressed.” The Iriks family had gone for a swim at the notoriously treacherous beach, about 17km from Walpole, earlier in the day, but said conditions were dangerous. Members of the heroic clan had seen the couple’s group not long before the tragedy occurred. “They looked like they weren’t in deep water when we walked past them (initially),” Jasir said. “They were just in waist-deep water, and they were all together, kind of like holding on to each other. “We didn’t really see any problem with it . . . you think about it afterwards, and you think, should we have said something?” Jasir said his whole family was still reeling from the ordeal. “Everybody is traumatised, you obviously keep thinking about . . . what you could have done different? You keep on going over it.” The Iriks said it was alarming that there was a lack of signs warning people of dangerous currents at the beach. Community advocate Suresh Rajan told The West the tragedy had rocked the Bangladeshi community. “They’re trying to understand how they can help the two girls. That’s their priority at the moment,” Mr Rajan said. “The 10-year-old will, for the rest of her life, think that it was because of her that they went in to save her.” Mr Rajan called for the Cook Government to better fund campaigns to teach swimming in culturally and linguistically diverse communities. “Given the level of diversity, we’ve got to really focus on teaching people from diverse communities swimming safety and just general water safety,” he said. Mr Rajan said graphics at beaches in multiple languages that identify the dangers of rips — or airlines broadcasting water safety messages — would be a good place to start. “We don’t have the same approach to swimming that is developed as part of Australian culture,” he said. Dr Swapan was an associate professor at Curtin University’s School of Design and the Built Environment. His wife was also an academic who studied planning and development at Khulna University in Bangladesh before the couple moved to Perth in 2009. She had completed a doctorate and was working as a planning officer at the WA Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage. In a statement, Dr Swapan’s Curtin colleagues described him as being “deeply passionate about his work” but above all, a loving father and husband. “He often spoke lovingly of his beloved daughters,” they said. “He was very proud of his wife’s achievements as a mother, professional, and researcher. He balanced his roles with grace, seamlessly integrating his professional and personal life. “Swapan and Sabrina made significant contributions to the Bangladeshi community in Perth. “They were consistently involved in and supportive of various community activities and events. “Additionally, they offered help to community members in need, providing assistance in times of difficulty. “Surely, both Swapan and Sabrina will be missed by their colleagues, friends and community members in Australia, Bangladesh and beyond.”

The West Australian exclusiveConspicuous Cliff beach: Rescuers tell of attempts to save Shahidul Swapan and Sabrina Papri from drowning

exclusive
Conspicuous Cliff beach: Rescuers tell of attempts to save Shahidul Swapan and Sabrina Papri from drowning