Mehraab Nazir and a closed off walking trail in the Blue Mountains
(Picture: Watson Farley & Williams/AP)A high-flying British lawyer has been named as the father killed alongside his son after his family were caught in a deadly landslide while holidaying in Australia.
Mehraab Nazir, 49, and his nine-year-old son were killed when they were hit by falling rocks while hiking along a popular walking track at Wentworth Falls on Monday.
His wife, Ana, is in a critical condition in hospital. Their 14-year-old son has undergone surgery and is in a stable condition, while their 15-year-old daughter remains under observation, police said.
The teenage girl was called a “hero” after she managed to alert authorities to the horror landslide before making a harrowing 90-minute hike to safety.
It’s understood the distraught teen told an emergency operator: “I don’t know where we are”.
The family moved to Singapore from London 10 years ago where Mr Nazir became a partner at top advisory firm Watson Farley and Williams.
His firm said he was a “dear friend and colleague” adding they would be “remembering and honouring” him.
The University of Exeter graduate was recognised for his “strong experience” by the Asia Pacific Legal 500 in 2013.
A member of the Zoroastrian community - of which the Nazir family were a part of - told Daily Mail Australia they are in mourning.
“While we all still come to terms with this immense tragedy, the outpour and generosity of our community is very heart-warming,” a spokeswoman said.
“The surviving children have been united with their Godmother which is very comforting.”
New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet called the incident “tragic” and said he would be seeking advice as to whether the walking track should have been open given recent heavy rain.
“These tragedies occur too often so anything we can do to keep people safe, we will,” Mr Perrottet told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday.
“Obviously, the Blue Mountains is a place where people love to go trekking. It’s one of the wonders of the world but when those tragedies occur it would be remiss of any government not to act.”
Double fatality; two others critically injured in landslip – Wentworth Fallshttps://t.co/DX1BDVoIMv
— NSW Police Force (@nswpolice) April 4, 2022
Following the removal of the bodies, the New South Wales Department of Environment and Heritage announced that the area was closed to the public until further notice and a “comprehensive review” would be undertaken.
“(New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service) has a world class program in place to assess geotechnical risks and maintain the safety of walking tracks and other infrastructure to the greatest extent practicable,” the statement said.
“Unfortunately it is not possible to predict and eliminate all natural risks such as rockslides, which can occasionally occur around the state.”
The Department added that the walking track was inspected in the days before the rockslide as part of a routine track assessment program.
A British High Commission spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British couple and their children following an incident in the Blue Mountains.
“Our staff in Australia are in contact with local police.”
