2 girls taking photos at East Coast Park find body of man, 28, washed up to shore

A 15-year-old schoolgirl was taking photos of her friend and the sunset along East Coast Park shoreline on Dec. 21 when she suddenly saw a pair of black shorts in the water.

Upon closer inspection, the schoolgirl was shocked to find that the apparel was actually worn by a person, reported Shin Min Daily News.

She immediately cried for help and alerted the authorities after the man failed to respond to members of the public who checked on him.

Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers retrieved the man's body from the shoreline.

An SCDF paramedic pronounced the man dead at the scene.

The deceased was identified as a 28-year-old man, who was suspected of having drowned in the water earlier that day.

What happened

When Shin Min reporters arrived at the scene of the incident, there members of the public at the beach.

The deceased, who was topless and dressed in black shorts, was seen lying face down along the shoreline.

A member of the public, who identified herself as Christina, told Shin Min that she and her friend arrived at the park around 11am.

At around noon, she heard about eight men, who appeared to be in their 20s, crying for help.

"I heard that they were here to play water sports during their holidays. However, one of them was swept away by the ocean waves," recounted Christina.

Although Christina was aware of the incident, she said she never expected to see the body firsthand being washed up to the shoreline.

Police investigations ongoing

In response to Mothership's queries, the Singapore Police Force said they were alerted to "a case of suspected drowning" at around 11:55am on Sunday.

SCDF also confirmed that they received a call for water rescue assistance at around 12pm.

Upon arrival, SCDF deployed firefighters to conduct a visual search from the shore.

Divers from the Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) also conducted an underwater search in the area where the man was last seen.

Concurrently, SCDF's marine firefighters onboard a Marine Rescue Vessel plied the nearby waters.

At around 6:40pm, SCDF rescuers retrieved the man's body.

Based on preliminary investigations, the police do not suspect foul play.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Top image via Shin Min Daily News