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Monday June 8, 2026 - 7:28 pm A Friend Left Behind The afternoon sun on Sunday, June 7, was brutal, pushing thousands of people toward Hawkesbay Beach just to breathe. Among them were Maisam Abbas and his friend, Huzaifa. They went into the water together, looking for relief from the suffocating heatwave, but the ocean waves were massive and unforgiving. In a split second, the undercurrent pulled them both under. Edhi marine rescue volunteers swam out into the rough surf and managed to reach Huzaifa. They dragged him back to the shore, unconscious but breathing, and rushed him to the hospital. He survived. But Maisam was swept too far out into the deep water, and by the time rescuers could get to him, it was too late. His body was recovered from the sea later that afternoon. It is haunting to think about Huzaifa waking up in a hospital bed today, on Monday, June 8. He escaped the water, but now he has to carry the heavy weight of knowing his friend didn't make it back to the shore with him. One survived, one didn't, all because of a single afternoon swim.