Man in bumboat blaze still missing
As the bumboat went up in flames, its boatman jumped overboard.
Yet more than 24 hours later, Mr Ong Hock Long has yet to be found.
The 33-year-old was the only person on board the battery-operated boat when it burst into flames on Tuesday evening (July 12).
He had been on his way to pick up passengers at the Esplanade.
Eyewitnesses said Mr Ong was wearing a yellow top when he jumped off the vessel.
Thick smoke could be seen clouding the Singapore skyline from many parts of the Central Business District, even as the inferno was contained to only the boat in the Marina Bay.
Eyewitnesses told The New Paper that there was initially smoke from the boat, which they dismissed as mist from machines which are used to cool people off.
But the smoke soon came with flames, alarming onlookers.
Divers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force's (SCDF) Disaster and Rescue Team were later sent out to look for Mr Ong.
His family members were also seen in the area while the search was carried out on Tuesday evening.
Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao reported that family members said that Mr Ong had broken up with his girlfriend about two months ago, and that it still affected him.
The SCDF ceased its initial underwater search for Mr Ong and resumed a surface search operation in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
GET THE FULL STORY IN THE NEW PAPER, THURSDAY, JULY 14
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