Singapore-based lawyer, 9-year-old son holidaying in Australia killed in landslide

SYDNEY: Australian police on Tuesday (Apr 5) recovered the bodies of a British man and his nine-year-old son, killed when a rockslide hit their family while walking in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.

The landslide struck the holidaying family of five on Monday, killing 49-year-old Mehraab Nazir and his son and critically injuring the 50-year-old mother and another 14-year-old son, police said. 

Rescuers reportedly took more than an hour to reach the site, where they recovered the bodies from dense bushland.

"It is with the greatest sadness that we must confirm that our dear friend and colleague Mehraab Nazir, a partner in our Singapore office, tragically lost his life in a landslide in Australia earlier this week alongside his young son," a spokesman for law firm Watson Farley & Williams told CNA.

"We will be remembering and honouring Mehraab, however, with the surviving members of the family in serious conditions or in shock, we ask that you respect their privacy and grief at this incredibly difficult time. We are giving Mehraab’s family all possible support and assistance."

On Watson Farley & Williams' website, Mr Mehraab is described as a lawyer specialising in "complex cross-border finance transactions with a particular focus on the transportation and energy sectors", with his expertise covering maritime, rail and aviation.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Mr Mehraab was visiting Australia with his family on holiday at the time.

The mother, identified by ABC News as Ana Nazir, was winched out of the scene together with her son at Wentworth Falls by helicopter. They remain in critical condition in hospital after undergoing emergency surgery for serious head and abdominal injuries, said ABC News.

Rescuers treated the couple's 15-year-old daughter for shock and transferred her to a Sydney children's hospital, where she remained under observation on Tuesday.

She was being assisted by the British consulate and welfare services.

According to ABC News, the 15-year-old, who was unhurt, managed to flag down other bushwalkers. She also dialed 000, Australia's main emergency service number.

"I don't know where we are," she told the operator, before a massive emergency operation commenced.

Blue Mountains police were investigating the landslide and a report would be prepared for the coroner on the two deaths, police said.

All but two lookouts in the Blue Mountains National Park were closed to the public from 9am on Wednesday, reported the Sydney Morning Herald, with more wet weather forecast, raising concerns about further landslides.

Sydney has experienced heavy rains in recent weeks, with many suburbs in the city's west devastated by flash flooding and heavy storms.

The New South Wales national parks and wildlife service said the track the family was on had been inspected in the days before the rockslide.

All tracks in the Wentworth Falls area were closed "until further notice", it said in a statement.