SIM student went missing at sea during thunderstorm

SINGAPORE - There had been a thunderstorm when SIM Global Education student Goh Chuan Kiet, 23, went missing in the waters off Changi on Sunday, reported Lianhe Wanbao yesterday.

Mr Goh had been out at sea with a paddleboard with 10 windsurfers from his school. According to SIM, they went out to sea at about 12pm.

The incident occurred near Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and Constant Wind Sailing School and Sea Sports Centre at the National Service Resort and Country Club.

A staff member of the centre told Wanbao that a fisherman had seen a man on a paddleboard flip over close to the ferry terminal in the early afternoon. Moments later, only the board and paddle surfaced.

It is understood that, at the time, the rain was not especially heavy, although winds were strong.

As of 6pm yesterday, Mr Goh has not been found.

He is pursuing his first-year undergraduate business degree with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology offered at SIM, SIM said in a statement yesterday.

He is also a member of the SIM Windsurfing Club.

SIM said the outing was arranged by the students and was not part of any official training or event.

Wanbao reported that Mr Goh was new to surfing. He and his schoolmates had just received their first-level surfing certificate last week.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said search-and-rescue operations for the missing Singaporean continued yesterday after it received a report of the incident at 2.05pm on Sunday. Search operations, which involve commercial divers, were to continue into the night.

SIM said it is giving its "fullest support to the authorities and to the student's family, as well as to the friends who went out with (Mr Goh)".

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