Muhammad Furqan Mohamed Rashid had fallen from the main deck of the Panama-flagged African Cardinal on June 20. - PHOTO: MUHAMMAD FARIZ/FACEBOOK
SINGAPORE: A Singaporean sailor who has been missing since June, when he fell off a ship, has been “presumed dead” by the US Coast Guard, the sailor’s sister said on Facebook on Friday.
Muhammad Furqan Mohamed Rashid, 25, had fallen from a bulk cargo carrier off the coast of California in the United States on June 20.
His sister Nur Afifah Mohamed Rashid said on Facebook that her family is still waiting for the US Coast Guard’s official report.
“We hope that the report will be given to us soon so that it can give our family the answers that we have been seeking for and hopefully more clarity of what could have happened,” she added.
Furqan was attending a course to become a junior deck officer, according to his friend Muhammad Fariz, in a Facebook post earlier.
The US Coast Guard said in a release on June 20 that it was “actively searching” for a person who fell overboard from a bulk carrier vessel 23km off the coast of Point Conception, California, after it was alerted at about 5am local time.
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, the US Coast Guard called off an active search by air and sea for a missing sailor on June 20 evening, after nearly 15 hours.
Both reports did not name Furqan.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore confirmed in June that the US Coast Guard was activated to help in the search efforts but did not locate Furqan.
In her Facebook post on Friday, Afifah thanked her social media followers for their thoughts and prayers, as well as people who have helped her family during this period.
“It has been a difficult time for our family, but your prayers have given us tremendous comfort and strength to move forward,” she said.
She also thanked mosques and congregations that performed Solat Jenazah Ghaib, a funeral prayer, for her brother after the Friday prayers last week.
She said: “Thank you as well to those that perform sadaqah or good deeds on his behalf. Please continue to keep him in your prayers and may he be gathered among the righteous people.” - The Straits Times/ANN
