Heroic act: businessman sacrifices his life to save nephew

His mother holds on to hope that he is alive, while family have accepted his fate

- YOSHINI PERUMAL

Mohammed Zaheer Sindhi

A BUSINESSMAN, who arrived in Durban on New Year’s Day to spend time with his 4-year-old son and attend his cousin's wedding, “died as a hero” after he saved his nephew from a rip current at a beach in Ballito in Durban.

Although Mohammed Zaheer Sindhi’s body has not been recovered since he was caught in a rip current at around 5.30am on January 2, most of his family have accepted that he had died.

His elderly mother, however, holds onto hope that he is alive.

Sindhi, 39, of Carolina in Mpumalanga, went for a swim with his sister’s two teenaged sons at Thompson’s Bay when he and his nephew, Mohammed Uwis, 19, got caught in a rip current, which are powerful, channeled currents of water flowing away from shore.

Sindhi’s brother, Omar Sindhi, said Uwis's 16-year-old brother Uzair was playing at the shoreline, while the two swam in deeper water when they were swept away.

“My brother somehow managed to kick my nephew a few times to help him escape the rip current. A fisherman then managed to rescue Uwis. He said he was about to dive into the water to try to save my brother, who was by then swept further out to sea, but the current was too strong and he would have drowned. During all this time, Uzair watched helplessly from the shoreline. He is traumatised."

Omar said Sindhi, a self-employed motor spares dealer, had booked accommodation for his three sisters, their families, and his 70-year-old mom in uMhlanga from New Year's Day until Monday.

He said Sindhi was recently divorced and was excited to spend time with his son, who lived in Durban with his mom.