GoFundMe created for Filipino father who drowned rescuing autistic son in Canada lake

July 23, 2021

A Filipino father of four died while rescuing his autistic son from drowning in a lake in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley.

Family tragedy: Arnulf Salazar, 53, drowned on July 17 after swimming after his non-verbal 10-year-old son Zac who drifted into deeper water at Chehalis Lake, reported CTV News.

Arnulf and his children were at the lake for a family picnic when the tragedy happened.
According to his 18-year-old daughter Zsalve, the lake had shallow waters, but they did not know it had an abrupt deep drop.
“It was just like a slip of the moment where Zac just started to drift apart from us,” she was quoted as saying.
Arnulf reportedly jumped into the water and managed to reach his son but struggled to get him to safety.
A good Samaritan named Nick McCleary saw the commotion and swam out to help but could only save the son.
“When I got to the man and boy, the man passed me the boy… I told him that I had him, I’ve got him,” McCleary recalled, according to Burnaby Now.
“I was just so out of breath, I couldn’t go back anymore,” he said. “I really wish I could have done more. He was a father of four. I’m a dad myself.”

A terrible loss: Arnulf was later brought to land by a diver who was at the scene, but he did not survive despite attempts by the family, and later the emergency responders, to revive him using CPR.

Arnulf, who worked as a glazier, is survived by his son Zac, Zac’s twin brother, who is also autistic, his daughter Zsalve, a 22-year-old son and his wife.
Zsalve described her dad as a “great father” that she “looked up to.”
A fundraising campaign, set up on GoFundMe to help the grieving family, has raised over 32,000 Canadian dollars (over $25,000) out of its CA$40,000 ($31,000) goal as of this writing.

Featured Image via GoFundMe

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