Man, 47, drowns in the waters off East Coast Park; no foul play suspected
What was supposed to an enjoyable fishing trip by the beach with his wife turned into a tragedy, when a 47-year-old man drowned while he “was packing his fishing equipment/gears” on Saturday (Nov 6), at approximately 11pm.This is the second known drowning incident in the waters of East Coast Park this year.
This incident happened about 30 metres from the Enak Enak Hong Kong Tea House Eatery, according to an eyewitness, Goh Wei. He told the Chinese evening daily, Lianhe Wanbao that he was alerted to a commotion in the waters, and he proceeded to take a second look.
He subsequently saw a man in dark clothing lying unconscious by the grass patch besides the waters, and a few members of the public were trying to resuscitate him.
CNA reported on Nov 8 that the Singapore Civil Defence Force had received a call for assistance at 1201 East Coast Parkway, and a man, who was retrieved from the waters and unconscious, was taken to the Changi General Hospital, where he was subsequently pronounced dead.
The police, who were alerted to the incident at about 11pm on Saturday, told the media that preliminary investigations do not suspect foul play, and investigations are ongoing. The man was not identified.
According to Lianhe Wanbao, the deceased and his wife were fishing by the shore. Allegedly, they had consumed some alcohol whilst fishing. The man appears to have fallen into the waters whilst he was retrieving some fishing gear, and he was rapidly swept into the sea.
It was high tide at the point of the accident, and the waters were raging, according to eyewitnesses.
Despite the possible danger and risk to their lives, three members of the public, who were not identified, jumped into the waters to attempt to save the man’s life.
According to CNA, in March the body of a 62-year-old man was retrieved by authorities from the waters at East Coast Park. He was believed to have drowned, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Top image: Enak Enak East Coast Park Facebook page
