Canoeists 'rescued' from Kallang Basin

He thought what he saw from his balcony was strange.

Out there on the Kallang Basin, two canoeists kept falling out of their boat and trying to get back in.

They did this for almost 20 minutes, without success. Mr Stuart Ross decided to raise the alarm.

"I called the Sports Hub and told them that there were these two boys struggling," he said. "It just didn't look right."

The incident happened on Tuesday, just past 6pm.

Mr Ross, 42, who works in the export trading industry, was watching the two men from his sixth-storey balcony at Tanjong Rhu.

Following the call, Mr Calvin Palyama, 40, the director of the water sports centre at the Sports Hub, went out on a safety boat with a colleague to look for the canoeists.

"We found them about three minutes later against the reservoir wall. They said they were okay and they were back in their boat, but it was filled with water and sinking," he said.

The canoeists had floated to the edge of Kallang Basin leading to Marina Bay, which leads to the Marina Barrage.

Mr Palyama brought the canoeists on board and helped tow their craft to safety.

According to him, the two canoeists said they were from the National University Singapore (NUS) and were training for the Singapore Canoe Marathon, which takes place tomorrow.

An NUS spokesman said four students from the NUS Canoeing Team were training at Kallang Basin.

TRAINING

"During the training, two students had to flip their canoe to empty the water from within the canoe," said the spokesman.

"As there was still some water in the canoe, the two students decided to paddle the canoe towards a nearby pontoon to empty it fully."

The students were later assisted to the pontoon, where they emptied the canoe and paddled back to shore safely, the spokesman added.

Mr Palyama, who has 15 years of experience in water sports, said: "I think they were competent, but the conditions that day were challenging, because the winds were really strong.

"They did the right protocol to empty the boat of water, which could have got in because of the winds, the waves, or even just off their paddles."

Asked if he saw the other two students, he said that there was no one else in the vicinity.

Mr Ross, however, felt the boys did not know what they were doing.

"I have been watching people do water sports from my balcony for two years," he said.

"You can tell that these guys are beginners because they didn't have balance and kept falling in. Next time, if in trouble, put your hands up, so others can see you and get help."