By Ewen
Boey | Yahoo!
Newsroom – 7 hours
ago
A Singaporean was killed while on a fishing trip
in India after the boat he was on
capsized.
Yong Kian Fei, 32, was reportedly found
unconscious, floating near Agatti
Island, 450km off Keralastate’s
western coast on Monday. His friend, Desmond Ho Wee
Kiat, 32, survived the ordeal with
minor injuries, wrote The New Paper.
Both men were research officers at the Singapore
Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), a research institute of
the Agency
for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).
This is the second boat tragedy involving Singaporeans in
about a month. Two Singaporeans are still missing from an incident
off Mersing in
Malaysia last month when their fishing boat was hit by a
ship.
Yong and Ho arrived at Agatti
Island last Saturday and went for
a fishing trip on Monday, accompanied by the boat owner and another
local, said F G Mohammed, who works for the Agatti Island
information and public relations department.
“At about 1:30pm, the boat was hit by heavy waves and capsized,
throwing all four of them out into the sea,” said Mohammed, whom
the boat owner told of the tragedy.
It is believed that Yong had hit his head when the boat
capsized, he added.
The four men were rescued by a fishing boat and dropped off at
Agatti Island jetty at around 5:30pm. Doctors at a nearby hospital
pronounced Yong dead soon after.
SIMTech executive director Lim Ser
Yong said, “We are saddened that two SIMTech staff, who
were on vacation, were involved in a boating accident in Agatti
Island, off India, on October 17.
“Research engineer Desmond Ho, 32, was injured but is in stable
condition. We are making arrangements for him to return to
Singapore tonight.
“Our SIMTech supervisor has accompanied Yong Kian Fei’s family
members to India and is helping the family to make arrangements to
repatriate Mr Yong’s body back to Singapore.
“We offer our deepest sympathies to the Yong family.”
A spokesman from the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said, “MFA and our
Consulate-General in Chennai are aware of the boating incident
which took place in Agatti Island in India.
“We are in contact with families of both Singaporeans involved in
the unfortunate accident and will provide them with all the
necessary consular assistance.”