The 25-year-old man who died in the NSW floods after his car was submerged in floodwaters has been identified as Engineering student Ayaz Younus.
On Thursday morning it was confirmed that Younus spent 44 minutes on the phone with Triple 0 before passing away.
Younus was reportedly driving a hired Toyota Camry on his first day as “a contractor for a large commercial organisation” before he became stuck in floodwaters on Cattai Ridge Road, Glenorie.
His body was found trapped within his car at 1 pm, approximately 30 metres from the nearest road. It was reportedly trapped in six metres of water. Younus had called Triple 0 at 6:20 am.
“The triple zero operators did continue to maintain contact with the 25-year-old male as he was in the car,” Detective Inspector Chris Laird said.
“However, at 7.04 am, it’s believed contact was lost with the male. Police arrived on the scene shortly after and were unable to find the car.”
“What’s happened is a complete tragedy,” Inspector Laird said. “The fact that he was on the phone for so long is even more tragic… a man that is possibly about to pass away, and he’s on the phone, and the water’s rising.”
According to the president of the Pakistan Assocation of Australia, Farhat Jaffri, Younus’ body will be sent back to Karachi, where he was born and currently has a family.
“Ayaz Younus 25 years old has passed away today,” wrote Jaffri.
“He had two elder brothers and one younger sister. He was from Malir Cantt, Karachi, studying software engineering.
“Family has requested to send the body back to Karachi.”
Police are currently examining why Younus could not escape his vehicle before his death.
“Initial examinations show that he made all reasonable attempts, and that’ll form part of our inquiries as to why he couldn’t exit the car,” said Laird.
“You can only just imagine somebody fighting for their life to get out of a car … he clearly couldn’t get out.”
Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys has stated that it is “unhelpful to speculate” at this time.
“This is a graphic and tragic reminder of the dangers that occur on our road as this crisis unfolds,” he said.
More to follow as the investigation unfolds.
