'He was rigid in water': recalls Zubeen Garg’s associate of icon's final moments

Guwahati, Sept 23: Legendary music icon Zubeen Garg breathed his last in Singapore on September 19 after a tragic incident during a yacht outing with close friends and associates. What was supposed to be a day of music and leisure turned into a nightmare.

Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, a member of Zubeen’s music team who was present at the time, recounted the harrowing sequence of events while speaking to the media.

According to him, the team, including Zubeen, Siddharth Sharma, Amritprava Mahanta and Shekhar, had landed in Singapore on September 17 for a programme scheduled on September 20 with plans to return on September 21.

“Zubeen da was preparing to begin his show at the North East Festival in Singapore with Dr Bhupen Hazarika’s evergreen classic Niyarore Phul,” he said.

On September 19, Zubeen and his group and members of the Assam Association Singapore boarded a yacht for a short sea outing. After swimming for a while with a life jacket, Zubeen re-entered the water, discarding the jacket.

“I repeatedly told him not to swim more as it would exhaust him and put pressure on the heart,” Shekhar recalled.

But within moments, the singer stopped moving. “He was rigid in the water. I lifted him up and saw water coming out of his nose and mouth. I panicked,” he said. Despite desperate CPR attempts by his companions and medical teams for over an hour, Zubeen could not be revived.

“Zubeen da had told us on the night of September 18 that we would go to the sea on a yacht the following day, September 19. Around 1 pm Singapore time, Tanmoy and Abhimanyu from the Assam Association were waiting for us at the hotel. We reached around 1:30 pm and boarded the yacht, spending about 30-40 minutes in the water before it anchored at a spot where water activities like boating and swimming were taking place,” said Goswami.

“Zubeen da entered the water wearing a life jacket and swam for about two minutes and returned to the yacht. I was still in the water at that time along with Sandipan Garg, Siddharth Sharma, and some members of the Assam Association.

“Zubeen da went back into the water though I did not notice exactly when. Someone from the yacht mentioned that he was swimming without a life jacket. He was known to be a good swimmer and often guided us in swimming. I warned him repeatedly not to swim too much, as it could exhaust him and put strain on the heart. He seemed ready to return to the yacht, but suddenly, while turning back, he became stiff in the water with no movement of his hands or legs. I was near him and realized something was wrong,” he recalled.

Goswami lifted him from below and pushed him upward. That is when he noticed water coming out from his nose and mouth. He vomited, but there was no effort from his side to move. “I panicked and shouted for help,” he added.

Sandipan Garg, Siddharth Sharma, and the boat pilot jumped into the water. Zubeen was placed in a circular tube and brought back to the boat. The pilot immediately administered CPR, assisted by Sandipan, while Shekhar and others massaged his feet and hands for about 15 minutes.

“Help was called, and soon an ambulance and a police team arrived at the spot. They too tried CPR. The yacht then returned to a nearby port, where a medical team was waiting. Medical team worked on him for another 30-40 minutes using medical equipment,” he said.

“By then, I had noticed his lips and toes were turning blue. When I asked a nurse about his pulse, she shook her head to indicate there was none. He was then rushed to the hospital. After 30-40 minutes, Siddharth called and told us the news we feared the most – Zubeen da was no more,” he said.

“We, who had been waiting on a different boat at the port, were devastated,” he added.

Shekhar described the ordeal of being questioned for more than 12 hours by Singapore Police, who collected samples from the yacht and checked Zubeen’s room. “They asked about medicines, drugs, smoking, and his medical history. We gave our versions separately,” he said.

Later, Shekhar returned to Guwahati under distressing circumstances, travelling on the same flight that carried Zubeen’s coffin.

“I was scared. I waited for hours at the Guwahati airport wearing a mask until relatives took me home,” he added, still shaken.

Amritprava Mahanta, another eyewitness of the incident, said that Zubeen was unconscious when she saw him. “I was in the yacht. Someone called hurriedly and I saw white foam coming out of his mouth. He was not responding. Everyone present was doing their part to revive him,” she said, adding that there was a hue and cry situation.

Staff Correspondent