Local man rescues girl from lake

Local man rescues girl from lake
By Dan Hilborn, Burnaby Now assistant editor
Published June 21, 2003

A young man from Burnaby is being hailed as a hero after rescuing a five-year-old girl and two adults from a tipped pleasure craft on Green Lake in Seattle, Wash., last weekend.

Khalil Lakhani, 15, and his friend, Kirstin Huberman, were just heading for lunch during a break at the Ted Houk Memorial Regatta when they saw a commotion on the water and then heard a young girl's cries for help.

"We saw the boat capsized and a small crowd around the shore, but people weren't doing anything," the young man told the Burnaby NOW this week. "We took off our shirts, jumped into the water and swam out to the flipped-over boat."

Once they got back to shore, the two young rescuers simply changed into dry clothes and continued on their way to lunch.

But while Lakhani describes the event as rather mundane, his actions are being applauded by Matt Lovett, the commodore of the Burnaby Canoe and Kayak Club.

"What he did took a lot of initiative," Lovett said. "They swam quite a ways out, and the weather was quite stormy that day. This child was floundering in the water, and the emergency crews were quite impressed."

"I think he has hero qualities about him," Lovett said.

Witnesses believe the capsized boat was about 300 metres offshore even before Lakhani and his friend began their rescue effort. Once they swam out, they righted the small paddle boat, lifted the young girl into the craft, and then swam back to shore, towing the craft behind them.

Lakhani, who has been paddling for about two years and has earned his level C first aid certification, said his first impression after hitting the water was that it was both warmer and cleaner than his usual paddling grounds - Burnaby Lake.

When asked if he was worried about his own safety, he replied: "No, because I've done this before at my (Burnaby) lake. When you fall into Burnaby Lake with a white shirt on, it's not white when you're coming out again."

And Lovett said the whole rescue effort might have gone without any acknowledgment if he hadn't asked Lakhani why his clothes were wet.

"He's a modest individual and a great role model for the other paddlers," said the head of the rowing club. "He's a great guy, and we're proud of him. He's always the guy who's there first if you need a hand."

Lakhani is also active in Scouts Canada and recently completed the expedition, community service and educational requirements needed to earn the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Level Award.