Man drowns, child survives at pond near Everly Apartments in Naples, Collier sheriff says
A man is dead and a child is recovering after both were pulled from the water following an attempted rescue in Naples on Thursday night.
The Collier County Sheriff's Office identified the victim as Ali Asif, 47, and the surviving child as 4-year-old Ara Asif. Four other relatives had gathered when the incident happened, according to the incident report.
When a Collier County deputy arrived around 8:15 p.m. to a reported drowning on Magnolia Pond Circle, an incident report says, several people were around the body of water screaming, while a sheriff's office corporal and two witnesses were in the water.
The report notes the individuals were screaming the child's father was still underwater and couldn't swim. The corporal said the water was too murky to see through, which required a dive team to help locate the father.
Divers with Greater Naples Fire found Ali Asaf, who was pulled from the water. The report says he was submerged for about 25 minutes and was pronounced dead around 9:10 p.m. at Physicians Regional - Pine Ridge.
"He's not moving, his heart already stopped," Ali Hassan, Ali Asif's nephew, told the Daily News on Friday. "Everything happened in front of (our) eyes."
One of the witnesses told authorities the child was also in the water, unconscious and not breathing "for a short period of time." He regained consciousness after witnesses pulled him from the water, according to the report.
The sheriff's report said the boy was nonverbal and autistic and had gotten out of the family's apartment.
The sheriff's office said the child was taken to NCH North, where he's in stable condition.
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Hassan said the family is originally from Pakistan and several relatives had gathered at the Naples home when the incident happened.
Woman says father disappears after attempting to save son
Collier County 911 received five calls.
The first lasts about five minutes and came from a female caller who cried as the dispatcher asked her to "speak up."
"Over here, please," the woman told someone else while the dispatcher remained on the line.
The caller then again turned her attention to the dispatcher.
"I can't see him," she said crying. "he went under."
About four minutes into the call, the woman said Ali Asif had been underwater for between five and 10 minutes.
The dispatcher audibly gasped during the call while he tried to send first responders.
Four calls last less than a minte
A second call appears to come from another female, who audibly breathes heavy, but doesn't engage with the dispatcher.
The dispatcher asked what the emergency entailed, as well as the location, but the conversation ended before the caller answered.
The third call lasted under 20 seconds. The recording picked up the sound of sirens, as well as a woman in distress who didn't respond to the dispatcher's inquiries about the origin or location of the emergency.
The fourth call last 22 seconds. A woman repeated "hello" several times, but didn't engage with the dispatcher.
The fifth call picked up several people in the background, as well as the caller.
"Please help me," someone said in the background, while the caller said, "He's dead."
"He's drowning," the caller repeated at least four times.
Second drowning in Southwest Florida in a week
It's the second drowning incident in Southwest Florida in a week.
On Saturday, two teenagers and a man died while attempting to save one of them in the Caloosahatchee River in Alva.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Florida man drowns rescuing child from Naples apartment complex pond
