Popular Bollywood playback singer Zubeen Garg died in Singapore after a scuba diving accident. The 52-year-old Assam artist had flown to the city-state to attend the North East India Festival, where he was scheduled to perform on September 20 and 21.
As per reports, Garg was rescued from the sea and administered CPR before being taken to Singapore General Hospital. Though he was given emergency treatment, around 2:30 pm IST, he was declared dead.
Sources told NDTV, "He was rushed to Singapore General Hospital, but had already lost his life before reaching there. Crew members attempted CPR at the scene, but their efforts failed. At 5.14 pm Singapore time, doctors at the hospital declared him dead. His body will now be sent for an autopsy."
Authorities further stated that plans are being made to bring his mortal remains back to Assam today or tomorrow.
"I am in constant touch with the High Commissioner of India HE Dr Shilpak Ambule. We are coordinating to ensure beloved Zubeen's mortal remains return to Assam at the earliest. As soon as the process is firmed up, I will share an update," wrote Himanta Biswa Sarma.
"It is with deep sadness that we share the news of Zubeen Garg's passing. While scuba diving, he experienced breathing difficulties and was immediately given CPR before being rushed to Singapore General Hospital. Despite efforts to save him, he was declared deceased in the ICU around 2.30 pm IST," Anuj Kumar Boruah, the representative of North East India Festival told NDTV.
In a post on Instagram, the North East Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta wrote, "With profound grief, we share the heartbreaking news that our beloved icon, Zubeen Garg, passed away today at Singapore General Hospital around 2:30 pm. Zubeen had arrived in Singapore just the day before yesterday. He was scheduled to be with us at the festival tomorrow, meeting and interacting with people. Earlier today, our entire team was engaged in a business meeting with senior Singaporean industrialists and policymakers at the Shangri-La Hotel to facilitate investments in Northeast India."
"During the meeting, we received a call from Zubeen's manager informing us that he had met with an accident and had been rushed to Singapore General Hospital. We later learned that a few members of the local Assamese community had taken him on a yacht visit, of which we had no prior knowledge," wrote Mahanta.
"On receiving the news, our team rushed immediately to the hospital and has since been working closely with the High Commission to complete the necessary procedures. This is a monumental loss, and words cannot express the depth of our grief," he shared.
One of the best-known voices from the Northeast, Zubeen Garg made a niche for himself in both Bollywood and regional films. He had provided voice to Assamese, Bengali, and Hindi films' songs.
In 2022, he had fallen ill due to a head injury after collapsing at a Dibrugarh resort and was airlifted for treatment to Guwahati.
His career took flight with the chartbuster Ya Ali from the movie Gangster, and hit numbers like Dil Tu Hi Bataa from Krrish 3. Besides playback singing, he was also involved in acting and film direction with successful ventures like Kanchanjunga, Mission China, Dinabandhu, and Mon Jai.
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