SINGAPORE – 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, even as one of her sons said in an Instagram post that he has accepted she had died.
In his post on Tuesday, Mr Vivek Sahani said the family had seen closed-circuit television footage from the Spectrum of the Seas, the vessel his mother and father were on.
In his post, Mr Vivek, the co-founder of Goila Butter Chicken, a restaurant chain with multiple outlets in India and one in London, said: “With the footage we have unfortunately learnt that my mother has passed away.”
Mr Jakesh Sahani, 70, and his wife, Madam Reeta Sahani, both from India, were on a four-day cruise.
Thanking people for the support shown during a harrowing two days, Mr Vivek added that it was ironic how Tuesday was his mother’s birthday.
MPA has deployed two patrol craft to help the search in Singapore’s waters, and an additional 22 commercial vessels have responded to the authority’s request to keep a lookout.
Meanwhile, the Singapore Police Coast Guard and the Republic of Singapore Navy are also assisting in the search, covering the stretch of Singapore port waters and the Singapore Strait.
MPA said the Singapore Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) is also coordinating its efforts with Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, which has deployed three craft.
“MRCC Singapore continues to issue navigational safety broadcasts 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 has been in touch with Madam Reeta’s family 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.
Madam Reeta had been on the Spectrum of the Seas with her husband, Mr Jakesh Sahani, 70, on a four-day cruise.
The Spectrum of the Seas was on the way back to Singapore from Penang on Monday morning when Mr Jakesh woke up to find his wife missing from their room.
In a phone call with ST on Monday, the couple’s other son, Mr Apoorv Sahani, 39, said his mother could not swim, and that the cruise company had yet to let the family review the CCTV footage.
A statement from MPA on Monday said the agency was alerted to the incident at about 7.50am, with the vessel berthed in Singapore to support the investigations.
It was allowed to depart at 4.30pm, and is currently en route to Vietnam.
- Additional reporting by Anjali Raguraman
