Bangladeshi pilot, businessman die in Canada boat capsize

Two Bangladeshi nationals, including a former BGMEA vice-president, died after a canoe capsized in Kawartha Lake, Ontario, on Sunday afternoon (June 8).

The victims have been identified as Abdullah Hil Rakib, former vice-president of BGMEA and managing director of Team Group, and Saifuzzaman Guddu, a Boeing 787 captain with Biman Bangladesh Airlines.

According to Subir Kumar Dey, president of the Bangladesh Business Chamber of Canada, the two friends and a child went out on the lake around 3.00pm near their cottage in Linzi, approximately 130 kilometers from Toronto. Strong winds caused the canoe to overturn. The child survived, but both men drowned.

Ontario Police, supported by marine, fire, and aviation units, recovered the bodies. Authorities confirmed that no life jackets were onboard.

Saifuzzaman has been traveling to Canada with his wife and younger daughter to visit his elder daughter and spend a vacation.