The second night of sifting through the Singapore River in the search for the missing boatman proved fruitful, even though it produced a rather tragic conclusion to the dramatic fire at Marina Bay on Tuesday evening.
Late last night, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) managed to unearth the body of the only casualty from the river taxi blaze. According to them, the body has since been retrieved by SCDF firefighters with assistance from the Public Utilities Board.
His identity has been revealed as Ong Hock Long, who is in his 30s. It’s believed that he was the same man seen leaping off the river taxi when it suddenly caught fire at Marina Bay. It was initially postulated that he was picked up from the waters by other bumboats nearby, but apparently he wasn’t — the boatman had been missing since the incident.
An extensive search operation was conducted that same evening, but that proved to be unsuccessful. With the body found yesterday, at least the next of kin can now have some closure.
