Fans have been mourning the death of popular Indian musician Zubeen Garg, who died at 52 in a scuba diving accident earlier this month.
North East India Festival organizers said on Instagram that the accident happened in Singapore before Garg was supposed to arrive at the event.
His death was confirmed as a “drowning” by Assam Chief Minister Hiamnta Bissau Sarma, Times of India reported. He died in the hospital on Friday, Sept. 19, at around 2:30 p.m., India Standard Time.
“This is a monumental loss, and words cannot express the depth of our grief,” the organizers wrote, adding that the festival has been cancelled in light of the incident. “We are devastated and pray for the departed soul of Zubeen Garg.”
On Tuesday, the singer was cremated and hundreds of thousands of people gathered to mourn his death in Assam which declared three days of mourning his death, BBC reported.
The crowd sang lines from one of his most popular songs, “Mayabini” and many politicians and musicians from across the region traveled to join fans in paying their respects, BBC wrote.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed his condolences via X.
“Shocked by the sudden demise of popular singer Zubeen Garg,” Modi wrote on Sept. 19. “He will be remembered for his rich contribution to music. His renditions were very popular among people across all walks of life. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti.”
Garg launched his music career in 1992 when he debuted his album, “Anamika” at 19 years-old. The musician then became known for his 2006 hit, “Ya Ali” which was released as part of the Bollywood movie “Gangster” soundtrack, IMDb wrote. Garg has recorded and sung more than 32,000 songs in nearly 40 Indian languages.
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