The dead body of a 42-year-old man was found off the waters of Pulau Ubin earlier today (14 March) by a member of the public, according to The Straits Times.
The man reportedly visited Pulau Ubin on the morning of 11 March (Saturday) to go fishing.
But he soon went missing the next day (12 March), and his clothes and belongings had been left behind, hanging on the railing near Puaka Bridge.
A water rescue operation was then conducted by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)’s elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART).
But the search was subsequently called off about seven hours later.
Disappeared after fishing, clothes left behind
Lianhe Zaobao reported that a 65-year-old island resident living in Pulau Ubin said that a man in his 40s had gone to Puaka Bridge to fish, on the morning of 12 March.
But he soon disappeared and left his clothes and belongings behind, including a fish that he had caught while he was fishing.
The resident said that he thinks the man might have entered the water body to look for something.
The SCDF confirmed that they received a call for help on Monday at about 12.20 pm, and a visual search from the shore was conducted by rescuers.
An underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was used in the search, which helps to map out underwater terrain using sonar-imaging technology.
About 16 SCDF officers were at the scene, with the ROV and drones also being used in the search operation, but it was subsequently called off after about 7 hours.
Body found the next morning
The next morning, the body of the man was then found by a member of the public and was retrieved by the Police Coast Guard at about 8.40 am.
The police’s preliminary investigations do not indicate any foul play, and investigations are underway at the time of writing.