Mum’s warning after son and husband drown at Sydney’s Little Bay
A mum has spoken out after her husband and 10-year-old son were killed while rock fishing on a popular Sydney beach.
A mother whose son and husband drowned after rock fishing at a popular Sydney beach has issued a stark warning about the dangers of the sport.
Hasti Masoumi, her husband Payam and their 10-year-old son Mahan, were enjoying the last day of the school holidays at Little Bay in January 2022 when tragedy struck.
Payam and Mahan had decided to try rock fishing when they were swept into the sea by a wave.
Distraught and in shock, Ms Masoumi recalled the terrifying moment she saw them in the ocean.
“I rushed to the edge of the cliff. And then I saw my son and my husband both in the middle of the ocean,” she told the ABC.
“Drowning is a very, very silent action. I didn’t hear anything. Any shouting, any screaming, anything,” she continued.
Unfortunately, there were no fellow rock fishers nearby equipped with rescue or flotation devices.
Little Bay is a popular beach but does not have lifeguard services which meant by the time authorities arrived, it was too late to save Mahan and Payam.
“I can’t forget what happened that day. Life will never be the same for me,” Ms Masoumi said.
Ms Masoumi said more needs to be done to protect inexperienced fishermen and believes equipment should carry a warning sign in shops.
She revealed she is studying to be a nurse and hopes to save other people's lives through her work.
“I honestly miss them in every second of my life,” she said.
“It’s really hard to live without them. I never imagined one day I should live without them. And I don’t have any other choice.”
Rock fishing has claimed the lives of more than 140 people in Australia since 2012.
Research from the University of Melbourne indicates that fatalities often occur when the ocean appears calm, fooling amateur fishermen who are unaware of the long gaps between sets of dangerous waves.
Rock fishing has been identified as a priority area for drowning prevention in the Australian Water Safety Strategy 2030.
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