Indian woman dies after ‘jumping off’ cruise in Singapore Strait

A 64-year-old Indian woman who allegedly jumped off a cruise ship sailing through the Singapore Strait is feared to have died.

The woman, identified as Reetha Sahani, was onboard the Royal Caribbean Cruise's "Spectrum of the Seas" vessel with her husband when she went missing on 31 July. They were on a four-day cruise.

The couple was on their way back to Singapore from Penang when her husband, Jakesh Sahani, woke up in the middle of the night to find his wife missing.

Mr Sahani tried looking for his wife but was informed by the crew that the vessel’s overboard detection systems had been alerted that someone had fallen from the ship into the Singapore Strait.

According to their son Apoorv Sahani, the cruise staff claimed she jumped off the ship but they did not provide any video footage.

"We’ve asked to see the CCTV (closed-circuit television) footage, but so far we’ve not received anything yet for us to confirm that it was her. All we know is that the ship’s crew thinks she jumped,” he told The Straits Times on Monday.

They are "washing their hands off", Mr Sahani tweeted on Monday, seeking help from India's foreign ministry and the prime minister's office.

His father was eventually told to get down from the ship. “She was on a holiday enjoying herself and then this whole thing happened. It doesn’t make sense," the son added.

Mr Sahani later on Tuesday shared that his mother has died after the cruise liner eventually shared the surveillance footage. He did not elaborate about the cause of death, but said a search for the body was underway.

"Would request you guys to give us some privacy as we mourn her loss. Ironically, today is also her birthday," Mr Sahani added.

The Indian high commission in Singapore said it had been in touch with the woman’s family since it was informed of the incident. "We are also in close contact with Singaporean authorities to address related issued and are facilitating legal procedures," the high commission tweeted.

Port authorities in Singapore said the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Singapore was notified about the incident at about 7.50am. The Singapore navy and the coast guard were assisting in the search operation, covering the stretch of the 113-km long strait.