Zubeen Garg, 'Ya Ali' singer from film Gangster, died during yacht trip in Singapore: Festival organiser

Assam's popular singer Zubeen Garg had gone on a yacht trip in Singapore with members of the local Assamese community when an accident occurred, which claimed his life, Chief Organiser of the North East India Festival, Shyamkanu Mahanta, said, contradicting the organiser's earlier version.

In a statement earlier, the organisers said that Garg died while scuba diving.

"It is with deep sadness that we share the news of Zubeen Garg's passing. While scuba diving, he experienced breathing difficulties and was immediately given CPR before being rushed to Singapore General Hospital. Despite efforts to save him, he was declared dead in the ICU around 2.30 pm IST," a statement issued by organisers of the North East Festival said.

The three-day festival, which was scheduled to begin on September 19, was cancelled following the tragedy.

Zubeen had arrived in Singapore on Wednesday and was 'scheduled to be with us at the festival tomorrow, meeting and interacting with people,' Mahanta said from the island country.

The entire NEIF team was engaged in a business meeting with senior Singaporean industrialists and policymakers at a hotel to facilitate investments in Northeast India, he said.

'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 trip, of which we had no prior knowledge,' Mahanta said.

He said that the singer was taken to a hospital and has since been working closely with the High Commission to complete the required procedures.

'This is a monumental loss, and words cannot express the depth of our grief. In light of this tragedy, we are cancelling the event,” Mahanta said.