Water conditions can be unpredictable, even in man-made canals.
In the early hours of Sunday (28 Mar), a 21-year-old man drowned after going for a swim with some friends in a canal near Upper Serangoon Crescent.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were informed of the incident and performed an underwater search.
They managed to recover his body, but unfortunately, he was pronounced dead on the scene by an SCDF paramedic.
According to Lianhe Wanbao, the 21-year-old had gone swimming at the canal underneath the junction of Upper Serangoon Road and Buangkok Drive with some friends on Sunday (28 Mar) morning.
However, his friends realised they were unable to find him after a while. There were no signs of struggles or yelling at the scene.
The group of friends then alerted the police.
At around 7am, the man’s father rushed to the scene after being notified by the police.
He was in shock as he did not know his son had gone for a swim.
In response to MS News’ queries, SCDF said they received a call for water rescue assistance at about 5.45am on 28 Mar.
Upon their arrival at the canal, there were no signs of the person.
2 divers from the Disaster Assistance Rescue team (DART) were activated to perform an underwater search.
An underwater Remotely-Operated Vehicle (ROV) that uses sonar-imaging to map out underwater terrain was also used to aid the search.
Following that, the divers retrieved a body about 6m from shore at a depth of about 2m.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by an SCDF paramedic.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), the police are now investigating the unnatural death but preliminary investigations do not suspect foul play.
Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to family and friends of the 21-year-old. May he rest in peace.
No one could have expected that an ordinary outing with friends could have taken such a tragic turn.
Such incidents are indeed a poignant reminder for all to always put their safety first. After all, accidents happen when you least expect them.
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps.
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