Robert Ovadia, Alex Chapman and Summer Woolley
7NEWS
Published: Thursday, 25 March 2021

Outpouring of grief for man who lost his life in floods
(Source: 7NEWS)

The friends of a young man who tragically died inside his car as it sank in NSW floodwaters have remembered him as kind-hearted, community-minded and hard-working.

Ayaz Younus, 25, died on his way to start a new job at Boral when he drove into floodwaters swallowing Cattai Creek Road at Glenorie on Wednesday morning.

The software engineer was on the phone with emergency services for at least 23 minutes before he drowned.

His body could not be retrieved until later on Wednesday.

The Pakistani national, who has no direct family in Australia, had been planning to join a Muslim youth group on Thursday to provide flood relief in his adopted country – something his friends still did while processing their grief.

Ayaz Younus tragically died inside his car as it sank in floodwaters northwest of Sydney. Credit: 7NEWS

“If Ayaz was here now with us, he would be putting on his gumboots and his gloves and his overalls and be joining us,” Waqas Ahmed from Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Australia told 7NEWS.

Instead, on Wednesday afternoon, Imran Ahmad had to witness the car of one of his best friends being towed away, minutes after his body was recovered.

“At that time, my legs were shaking. I was unable to stand. That was really hard for me,” he said.

The man’s Toyota is pulled from high floodwaters. Credit: 7NEWS
Ayaz Younus, 25, died on his way to start a new job at Boral when he drove into floodwaters swallowing Cattai Creek Road at Glenorie on Wednesday morning.

Ayaz Younus, 25, died on his way to start a new job at Boral when he drove into floodwaters swallowing Cattai Creek Road at Glenorie on Wednesday morning. Credit: 7NEWS

An investigation is being prepared for the coroner on the state of the road, the fact the Traffic Management Centre had not provided alerts that the area was flooded and also the time it took to reach the victim.

“I think it’s fair to say that a report for the coroner will explore all of those situations in terms of response times and what exactly happened,” Deputy Police Commissioner Gary Worboy told reporters.

Following a post-mortem examination, preparations will be made to fly his body back to Karachi at the request of his family.

“We’ve been speaking to them and they are completely devastated,” Ahmed said.

source https://7news.com.au/news/nsw/glenorie-flooding-victim-ayaz-younus-remembered-by-friend-as-community-minded-and-hard-working-c-2434871