PICTURED: Five-year-old boy who drowned in boating tragedy - as it's revealed he pleaded with his dad to take him fishing for the first time before disaster struck

  • Five-year-old boy who drowned in boating tragedy was on first fishing trip
  • Family friends say Mohamed Ali Laalaa had begged his father to take him
  • Boy was with his dad and two other men when boat capsized at sea on Saturday
  • The boy's father, 31, and another man, 23, were rescued by rescue helicopter
  • Bodies of Mohamed and father-of-three Saadallah El Kourouche found next day
The little boy who drowned in a boating tragedy was on his first ever fishing trip when the vessel capsized and disaster struck.
Five-year-old Mohamed Ali Laalaa had been out on the water with his father Ali and two other men when their boat capsized near Bulli Point in Wollongong on Saturday night.
Mr Laalaa, 31, and another man, 23, were winched to safety by helicopter crew as a widespread search was launched for Mohamed and father-of-three Saadallah El Kourouche, 28.
Their bodies were recovered by police divers the following day.
Friends of Mohamed's shattered family have revealed the boy had pleaded with his dad to take him fishing over the June long weekend.
Mr Laalaa is understood to be 'deeply traumatised' over the fateful decision.
He was taken to hospital to be treated for shock after he was rescued and is now recovering from the tragedy at home.
'They are not from Wollongong, they are from Western Sydney, they did not know how to read the sea. Two of the men had never been fishing before,' a family friend  told the Daily Telegraph
Mohamed Ali Laalaa (pictured) tragically drowned on his first ever fishing trip
Mohamed Ali Laalaa (pictured) tragically drowned on his first ever fishing trip
Saadallah El Kourouche, 28, (pictured) drowned in a fishing tragedy off Bulli Point on Saturday
Saadallah El Kourouche, 28, (pictured) drowned in a fishing tragedy off Bulli Point on Saturday
Young Mohamed was last seen screaming for help as he desperately clung to the hull of the capsized boat as it was pummeled by massive seas.
As large waves hammered the vessel, a faint cry for help was heard in the darkness.
'I heard someone screaming, it was dark, there was a little figure holding on to the side of the boat which had been turned upside down,' an onlooker told the Daily Telegraph
'We rang emergency services immediately. He sounded really distressed.'
The body of a man has been found in the ocean near where a boat with four people capsized near Bulli Point on Saturday night (search crews pictured)
The body of a man has been found in the ocean near where a boat with four people capsized near Bulli Point on Saturday night (search crews pictured)
Mr El Kourouche, from Sydney's south-west leaves behind three children.
He had been trying to save Mohamed moments before he drowned, according to his sister Haya, who penned a heartbreaking tribute.
'My brother. My Angel. I love you. The last 24 hours have been the hardest hours of our lives and it's almost impossible to form words to explain how I feel,' she wrote.
'You left and took a piece of us with you. The most selfless person you'll ever come across, lost his life trying to save someone else's. Every post I see kills me a little more because I choose to not believe it yet.'
Friends and family held a vigil at the scene south of Sydney on Sunday as a rescue search recovered the bodies of Mohamed Ali Laalaa, 5, and father-of-three Saadallah El Kourouche
Friends and family held a vigil at the scene south of Sydney on Sunday as a rescue search recovered the bodies of Mohamed Ali Laalaa, 5, and father-of-three Saadallah El Kourouche
The body was found after a five-year-old boy drowned when a boat (pictured) with four people onboard capsized near Bulli Point on Saturday night
The body was found after a five-year-old boy drowned when a boat (pictured) with four people onboard capsized near Bulli Point on Saturday night
It is understood none of the adults had been wearing life jackets but the boy may have been wearing one at one stage. 
Surf Life Saving Illawarra duty officer Anthony Turner described the tragic moment the crew rushed to find the boy in the pitch black. 
'(We heard) screaming, the words ''help, help, help'' came from the water for about two minutes and then there was silence.'
The crew used infra-red cameras to scan the ocean but were unable to see any sign of the boy.

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