The family of 40-year-old Indian national Srinivasan Sivaraman, who died after inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning a tank at national water agency PUB’s Choa Chu Kang Waterworks, was in Singapore for their summer holidays when the incident occurred.
Mr Sivaraman’s body was embalmed and handed over to his grieving family and friends on May 26.
The deceased’s wife, Ms Narmatha, 35, had come to Singapore on May 2 with their two daughters – Mahasri, nine, and Srinisha, seven. The family stayed with Ms Narmatha’s brother, Mr Mohan Naveenkumar, who works in the food distribution sector here.
The family had planned to stay here for a month before travelling to Malaysia as Mr Sivaraman was set to go on leave on May 27.
But upon receiving news of Mr Sivaraman’s death on May 23, they returned to their home town of Kambarnatham, a village in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, the very next day.
According to Mr Naveenkumar, Ms Narmatha was so distraught by the news that she decided to fly home to be with her relatives.
“On the day of the incident, Sivaraman went to work as usual. He told his family to be ready at 5pm to visit Gardens by the Bay. His young daughters were also excited about this,” Mr Naveenkumar, 33, said.
He added that Mr Sivaraman’s two daughters have since been asking: “Where is our father, who welcomed us with open arms at the Singapore airport? Why isn’t he here to greet us at home?”
Mr Naveenkumar said: “We are at a loss as to how to break the news to the children, that their beloved father will never return home.
“We ourselves are coming to terms with the fact that he’s no longer with us.”
He added that Mr Sivaraman had sponsored his education and helped him secure a job here.
Mr Sivaraman, who was a cleaning operations manager at Supersonic Maintenance Services, was discovered unconscious at the PUB facility on May 23 at around 11.15am. He was pronounced dead at the hospital later that day.
Two Malaysian workers, who also inhaled the gas and were found unconscious, are still in intensive care, said Stargroup Est, which employs one of the workers.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the workers had inhaled hydrogen sulphide gas, a by-product of the water treatment process, said PUB.
Mr Sivaraman’s body was taken to India for the final rites on May 28, accompanied by Mr Naveenkumar. Around 50 people, comprising family, friends and colleagues, had paid their final respects at a gathering on May 26.
One of them, Mr Sathappillai, 29, who was a friend of the deceased for six years, described Mr Sivaraman as an “elder brother” who was always willing to help others.
“He would always extend a helping hand to anyone in need, never once did he say no,” Mr Sathappillai said. “It’s hard to understand and believe that the helping hand is gone forever.”
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
