Fundraiser for Funeral Costs After Ottawa Teen Falls Through Ice into Rideau River

Ahmed Haitham (23/1/2006— 28/12/2023), passed away along with his friend Riley Cotter on Wednesday. Both were students at John McCrae Secondary School in Barrhaven.

According to the GoFundMe Fundraiser, "On Wednesday night December 27th, Ahmed and his friends had went out to skate at Nicolls island. Only a few nights after a green Christmas, the ice had been melting due to warmer weather. Ahmed arrived at the river and was only trying to enjoy his winter break with his friends. When he arrived at the river and put on his skates (9PM) , he only took a few steps on the ice and unfortunately the ice broke. Ahmed and his friends fought for their lives wearing heavy winter pants and jackets, with heavy skates trying to swim in pitch black darkness (try to picture it in your mind)."

According to CBC, "Ahmed and Cotter were with two other teens on Wednesday night when all four of them reportedly fell through the ice near Nicolls Island Road. The other two, who were siblings, emerged from the waters alive and one ran for help to a nearby home, recalled a resident. That resident called 911 after seeing a soaking wet teen show up at her doorsteps, only wearing a T-shirt, socks and shorts."

Ahmed came from a family of refugees from Iraq.

According to CBC, the janazah for Ahmed is scheduled to take place Saturday (Dec 30) at the Ottawa Muslim Cemetery.

To learn more and to support this fundraiser on GoFundMe, click here

The Iraqi Society of Ottawa also has collected funds for the family (see here).

Note on Ice Safety: 10cm thick of clear, blue ice is needed to support a human. Given the fact that the weather has been up and down, the ice is not as thick as usual at this time of year. You also need to be careful about walking on the ice on a river as the current can thin the ice. 

Recommended Reading: How to ice skate safely in the Ottawa region