Celebrated Bollywood and Assamese singer Zubeen Garg died in a freak accident in Singapore. The 52-year-old artiste was in the island nation for the North East India Festival, where he was scheduled to perform on September 20 and 21.
Initial reports suggested that Garg died while scuba diving. A representative of the North East India Festival in Singapore told NDTV, "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 said.
However, fresh details have since emerged suggesting otherwise.
"Zubeen Died While Swimming Without A Life Jacket": Assam CM
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the singer died while swimming in the sea without a life jacket. According to PTI, Sarma said, "Zubeen died while swimming without a life jacket," adding that Singapore authorities will question the people who had accompanied the singer for swimming.
Sarma also said there is a video in which Zubeen Garg is seen jumping into the sea from a yacht wearing a life jacket. "After the 1.26 mark in the video, Zubeen Garg can be seen returning to the yacht. According to reports, he jumped into the sea for the second time, but after taking off the life jacket, saying it was uncomfortable swimming with the life jacket on," the Chief Minister added.
Moments later, Garg was found floating in the sea, unresponsive. He was rushed to Singapore General Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead around 2:30 pm Indian time. An autopsy will be conducted tomorrow.
What Did The Fest Organisers Say?
The organisers of the North East India Festival also issued a statement underlining that they were unaware of the yacht visit before the accident.
Their statement read: "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," the statement further read.
The organisers concluded: "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. In light of this tragedy, we are cancelling the event. We are devastated and pray for the departed soul of Zubeen Garg. Om Shanti. Shaymkanu Mahanta & Team."
Who Was Zubeen Garg?
Zubeen Garg was one of Assam's most popular cultural icons, known for his songs in Assamese, Bengali and Hindi. He rose to nationwide fame with the hit track Ya Ali from the film Gangster and went on to deliver several other popular numbers, including Dil Tu Hi Bataa from Krrish 3.
Garg had also worked extensively in Assamese films as a singer, actor and director. Some of his hits included Kanchanjunga, Mission China, Dinabandhu and Mon Jai.
In 2022, he sustained a minor head injury after falling unconscious at a resort in Dibrugarh. He was later flown to Guwahati in an air ambulance and treated at a private super-speciality hospital.
