TEAM Group MD, Biman pilot dies in Canada boat accident

Abdullah Hil Rakib, managing director of TEAM Group, and his close friend Md Saifuzzaman, a pilot of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, have drowned after a boating accident on Canada's Sturgeon Lake.

In a statement on Monday, Biman said that Captain Saifuzzaman, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner pilot, died at 3:06 pm local time on Sunday.

Expressing deep condolences, the flag carrier said its Toronto office is in close contact with the Bangladesh High Commission in Canada to bring Saifuzzaman’s body back to Bangladesh in accordance with the family’s wishes.

Meanwhile, Rakib's death was confirmed by former Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Director Mohiuddin Rubel. Rakib himself had previously served as a senior vice president of the BGMEA.

On Sunday, Saifuzzaman and Rakib drowned when their canoe capsized on Sturgeon Lake, adjacent to a cottage in the scenic town of Lindsay in Ontario.

Saifuzzaman had flown to Toronto with his wife and younger daughter for a vacation and to visit his elder daughter, who is studying at a university in Toronto.

From there, they travelled to Lindsay, about 130km away, and checked into a cottage. In the afternoon, Saifuzzaman, Rakib, and Rakib’s son Mahir set out on a canoe onto the lake.

As the canoe glided across the calm water, Saifuzzaman’s wife and younger daughter filmed the scene from the shore with a mobile phone. Suddenly, the canoe flipped over.

Mahir managed to swim ashore, but Saifuzzaman and Rakib did not return. Rescuers later recovered both bodies, but neither had survived.

Lindsay is a peaceful tourist town in Ontario where water activities like boating, kayaking, and canoeing are popular. Accidents of this nature are rare in the area.

Sudden changes in wind direction, absence of life jackets, or inexperience in canoe handling could have contributed to the tragedy, according to local sources.

Ontario Provincial Police confirmed the two men had died after a canoe overturned in a lake in the Kawartha Lakes area on Sunday afternoon.

Emergency responders rushed to Sturgeon Lake shortly after 3pm local time following reports of a boating accident.

There were three men in the canoe. One managed to swim ashore, but the other two drowned after failing to stay afloat.

Police said that none of the three had been wearing life jackets at the time.