Body of angler found off East Coast Park

SINGAPORE - His body was recovered after a six-hour search by divers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and the Naval Diving Unit on Saturday.

An SCDF spokesman said they were informed of the incident at 11.15am. A rescue and recovery effort was then launched.

The man, a 51-year-old Chinese Singaporean, is believed to have been fishing with two friends when he slipped on the promontory near the East Coast Seafood Centre and fell into the water.

When The New Paper arrived at the scene, police were interviewing a friend of the victim. The man was quite distraught and kept shaking his head in disbelief. A fishing pole was lying nearby.

An off-duty SCDF officer with its Marine Firefighting Specialist branch was one of those who tried to rescue the man.

Mr Shaari Mohd Bani, 34, said he was planning to wakeboard at the Ski 360 Cable Ski Park nearby when he heard the commotion from the shoreline.

He and other wakeboarders rushed over. People were shouting about someone drowning and there were a few men in the water trying to help.

"It was quite low tide then. We all jumped in to try to save the victim," said Mr Shaari, who told a passer-by to stay with the victim's friend.

They searched for 10 to 15 minutes, by which time rescuers had arrived.

He stayed till about 2pm to pinpoint the exact area for his colleagues to search.

When asked about his courage in stepping forward to help, Mr Shaari said it was his SCDF training that kicked in and allowed him to render immediate assistance. "I just wanted to help," he added.

A police spokesman said that divers recovered the body at 7.27pm.

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