2-8-2023 (SINGAPORE) The search for a 64-year-old woman who fell from a cruise ship into the Singapore Strait on Monday morning continues, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), despite her son’s Instagram post saying he has accepted that she has died. In a 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, and added that “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.
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MPA has deployed two patrol craft and requested 22 commercial vessels to keep a lookout, while the Singapore Police Coast Guard and 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 is coordinating its efforts with Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, which has deployed three craft. The High Commission of India in Singapore said on Twitter that it has been in touch with Madam Reeta’s family since the incident and added that it is fully committed to supporting the family during this period of time.
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 The Straits Times, the couple’s other son, Mr Apoorv Sahani, 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.
