Crews have recovered the body of an 11-year-old boy who was swept away in the raging waters of the Yoho River last week.
Behzad Ahmad was visiting the Takakkaw Falls Day Use Area in Yoho National Park with his family on Friday and was walking on the rocks near the river when he leaned down to touch the surface of the water.
The boy’s uncle, Dawood Sobhi, says Behzad lost his balance and fell in.
Behzad’s younger brother tried to help but was pulled in before other relatives rushed over to help.
Sobhi says his 14-year-old son managed to get the younger boy out, but was unable to get to Behzad, who was swept away in the current.
Parks Canada officials began a search soon after the incident and scoured the area from the air and also on the ground throughout the weekend with no sign of the boy.
“We basically mobilized all resources that we could to get there as quickly as possible with the goal of finding the boy, hopefully alive, on the shoreline or on a feature on the river and wanted to ensure that we had inline the best medical care and transfer possible to give him the best chance possible,” said Lisa Paulson, Visitor Safety Specialist for Parks Canada.
On Monday, teams scaled back the search and, on Tuesday morning, located Behzad’s body in the Kicking Horse River about 13 kilometres downstream.
“It was around 10 a.m. that we found the boy just about 100 metres up from the Trans-Canada Bridge on a mid-stream gravel bar,” said Paulson. “Sadly many river incidents that are involving swift water can have some tragic, tragic outcomes. It’s very difficult to overcome the swift water environment and get to a shoreline safely.”
Parks Canada is extending its sympathies to the boy’s family and is expected to provide a further update on Wednesday.
