A year after the tragedy that changed her life, Hasti Masoumi revisited Little Bay Beach, where she lost her husband Payam and her son Mahan whilst rock fishing.
Read: Rock Fishing In Maroubra: Important Safety Tips That Can Save Your Life
On 31 January 2022, the Masoumi family travelled almost two hours from Kellyville to Little Bay to spend the last day of family holidays together.
A day before their visit, they bought two rods – a kids rod for 10-year-old Mahan and a bigger rod for Payam along with some tackle. None of them could swim, which left Hasti a bit worried.
She thought of buying a flotation device, but she only found swimming aids suitable for children learning to swim. She didn’t know rock fishing life jackets existed.
When they arrived at Little Bay beach, they head to the fishing spot known as The Gutter. This spot looks like part of the coast during low tide, but it turns into an island marooned from the mainland by a shallow trough of water at high tide.
The family walked onto this rocky outcrop without any safety gear and fishing licence and were wearing thongs.
Hasti recalled it was a sunny day and the swell was fairly benign. She said there were no waves at the time, that she wasn’t thinking it was dangerous.
The father and son were preparing their fishing rods whilst Hasti was looking for a place to put their bucket and bags. However, everything changed in the next few seconds.
“In one second a huge wave splashed on me and everything I was carrying was thrown towards the rocks. I turned back (to where Mahan and Payam had been standing) and realised no one was there,” she said.
At first, she did not realise that Mahan and Payam were washed into the sea. Her husband was already very far from the rocks whilst her son was much nearer to the edge of the rocks, so she ran towards the edge.
That moment, she was torn between jumping in the water and saving Mahan or turning back and calling for help. She did the latter, a decision that she regrets.
Hasti screamed for help and the nearby fishermen called emergency services. The Council Lifeguards arrived in just 10 minutes, but it’s all too late. Mahan and Payam could not be revived.
“This trauma will live with me forever, until the last moment I’m living,” shared Hasti.
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In honour of Mahan and Payam, Randwick Council will be installing a memorial where their family can visit and pay their respects to their lost loved ones.