Passenger who fell from cruise ship has died, says son; search continues
Search efforts for the missing 64-year-old woman who fell from a cruise ship into the Singapore Strait on Monday morning are ongoing, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said on Tuesday, but one of her sons conceded that she had died.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Mr Vivek Sahani said the family had seen closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage from the Spectrum of the Seas, which his mother and father had been on before the tragic incident.
“With the footage we have unfortunately learnt that my mother has passed away,” said Mr Sahani, the co-founder of Goila Butter Chicken, a restaurant chain with multiple outlets in India and one in London.
Thanking people for the support shown during the harrowing past two days, he added that it was ironic how Tuesday was also his mother’s birthday.
Madam Reeta Sahani’s body has not been found, however, with MPA deploying two patrol craft to help in the search in Singapore’s waters.
An additional 22 commercial vessels had also responded to the authority’s request to assist in the lookout.
Meanwhile, assets from the Singapore Police Coast Guard and the Republic of Singapore Navy are also assisting, with the search area covering the stretch of Singapore port waters and the Singapore Strait.
MPA added that the Singapore Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre (MRCC) is also coordinating its efforts with the Indonesia Search and Rescue agency, Badan Nasional Pencarian dan Pertolongan, which has deployed three craft.
“MRCC Singapore continues to issue navigational safety broadcast to vessels in the Singapore Strait to keep a lookout for the missing passenger,” MPA said.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, the High Commission of India in Singapore said on Tuesday that it is in constant touch with the family of the missing Madam Reeta since it was informed of the incident.
It said on Twitter: “We are also in close contact with Singaporean authorities to address related issues and are facilitating legal procedures.”
It added that it has also contacted the India head of the Royal Caribbean cruise company to extend cooperation, and reiterated that it is fully committed to supporting the family during this period of time.
- Additional reporting by Anjali Raguraman
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