S’porean Family Confirms Daughter’s Passing In California Boat Fire, Sister Bids Touching Farewell

California Boat Fire Victim’s Sister Pens Touching Farewell On Facebook

Update (6 Sep, 6.19pm): According to the victim’s older sister, DNA tests confirmed that 1 of the 33 bodies recovered from the fire, belonged to her sister.

On Monday (2 Sep) morning, a scuba-diving boat carrying 39 passengers went ablaze off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. Tragically, 2 Singaporeans are listed in the boat’s manifest and are feared dead.

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26-year-old diver Tan Wei is one of them.

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On Thursday (5 Sep), Tan Wei’s sister, Cheerin, penned a poignant Facebook post bidding her younger sister farewell. Here’s her post,

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Sister pens poignant farewell to California boat fire victim

Cheerin started the post announcing the tragic death of her little sister.

She shared that her family is coping well and that their elder brother is currently on-site handling the necessary paperwork and arrangements.

She also gave thanks to relatives and friends who sent love and concern during this difficult time.

Cheerin ended her post with a mournful yet optimistic message,

It hurts, it will always hurt, but we will move on.

Tan Wei likely died doing what she loved

In a separate interview, Cheerin told CNA that the family still does not know if Tan Wei was among the bodies found.

However, the family has accepted “it” – presumably referring to death – given that Tan Wei’s name was on the manifest.

She added that her family members are all avid divers and “know the outcome when such accidents happen”.

According to Cheerin, Tan Wei worked as a data scientist in Santa Barbara and was extremely close to her family. They communicated regularly via WhatsApp despite their distance apart.

Sadly, it was also through this mode of communication that kept them bonded that the family learnt of the heart-wrenching news. Cheerin shared that her family sensed something was amiss when their messages couldn’t get through.

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There is, however, a silver lining amidst the grim and dread.

Tan Wei is said to have loved outdoor sports, and her family members are seeking comfort in the fact that “she was doing something she loved in the last few moments of her life”.

Condolences to the victims & their family

At the time of writing, 33 bodies have been found from the incident, leaving 6 undiscovered.

The Tan family has sent in a DNA sample to the authorities to help with the identification process and are currently awaiting results.

MS News would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and victims of this tragic boating accident.

We hope the results of the identification process will be released soon to give families and friends of those involved a semblance of closure.

Featured image adapted from Facebook and Facebook.