Celebrated Assamese singer Zubeen Garg passed away following a scuba-diving incident in Singapore, his event manager confirmed on Friday, September 19. He was 52.
Event manager Shyamkanu Mahanta said Garg died around 2:30 PM at Singapore General Hospital. The singer had arrived in Singapore two days earlier and was scheduled to perform at a festival and meet fans the next day.
Earlier in the day, Mahanta’s team had attended a business meeting at the Shangri-La Hotel with senior Singaporean industrialists and policymakers to discuss investments in Northeast India.
“During the meeting, we received a call from Zubeen’s manager informing us that he had met with an accident and had been rushed to Singapore General Hospital. We later learned that a few members of the local Assamese community had taken him on a yacht visit, of which we had no prior knowledge,” according to the statement.
According to Mahanta’s statement, Garg had joined members of the local Assamese community for a yacht outing — a plan the organisers say they were unaware of. During the trip, Garg went scuba diving, fell into the sea, was rescued, and taken to the hospital, where he was admitted to the ICU but could not be revived.
The team rushed to the hospital upon receiving the news and has since been coordinating with the Indian High Commission to complete formalities. “This is a monumental loss, and words cannot express the depth of our grief. In light of this tragedy, we are cancelling the event,” the statement said. The organisers announced the cancellation of the concert and offered prayers for the departed soul.
