Young man drowns after swimming with friends in Serangoon Canal

Singapore – A 21-year-old man drowned early Sunday morning (Mar 28) after swimming with friends in Serangoon Canal.

At around 5 am on Sunday, a man drowned while swimming with his friends in a canal in Serangoon, reported the Chinese newspaper Lianhe Wanbao.

At around 7 am, the man’s father, who wished to remain anonymous, rushed to the scene after being alerted by the police. The father was shocked at the incident and admitted he did not realise his son had gone swimming that morning.

The father told Wanbao that his son’s friends had called the police when they could not locate the 21-year-old. The friends did not see any signs of struggle or yelling during the incident, the report noted.

In response to media queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) confirmed receiving a call for water rescue assistance at the canal underneath the junction of Upper Serangoon Road and Buangkok Drive at around 5.45 am.

Upon their arrival, there were no signs of the victim, reported straitstimes.com.

An underwater search in the canal was performed by two divers from the Disaster Assistance Rescue Team (Dart) to try and locate the individual.

Furthermore, an underwater remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) was also deployed to aid the search operation using sonar-imaging equipment that maps out the underwater terrain.

Eventually, the divers retrieved a body about six metres from the shore at a depth of two metres.

An SCDF paramedic pronounced the individual dead at the scene./TISG

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