The recent spate of heavy downpours has made driving conditions riskier, though not only because of slippery roads.
As rain fell mercilessly early yesterday (11 Jan), a tree in Bukit Merah gave way and fell, right onto a nearby lorry.
The impact pinned the driver to his seat, leading to a precarious rescue situation.
A video on Facebook page All Singapore Stuff yesterday morning (11 Jan) showed rescuers at an accident site, where a large tree had fallen on top of a vehicle.
As firefighters from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) surrounded the lorry, a police car cordoned off the road up ahead.
Ambulances were on standby close behind, to whisk away any casualties to safety.
In response to queries from MS News, SCDF confirmed that they received a call for help along Jalan Bukit Merah at around 2am on Monday morning (11 Jan).
Upon arrival, they found a large tree that had crushed the front of the lorry and pinned the driver to his seat.
Extricating the driver safely was a delicate operation, as they had to cut through some tree branches first. A fire engine also had to haul the lorry away.
Rescuers from the Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) then used hydraulic cutting tools to reach the driver from the passenger side.
Here’s SCDF’s statement in full:
On 11 January 2021 at about 2am, SCDF received a call for assistance along Jalan Bukit Merah.
Upon SCDF’s arrival, a stationary lorry was found with a large tree impacted on top of it. The front of the lorry was also crushed inwards, pinning the driver in his seat.
To rescue the driver, SCDF firefighters had to first cut and remove several tree branches near the front of the lorry with a chainsaw. A fire engine was then used to pull the lorry away from the tree. This created sufficient working space for the elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) rescuers to deploy a slew of hydraulic rescue cutting tools and extricate the driver safely through the lorry’s passenger side.
Besides SCDF’s medical crew, an emergency medical team from Singapore General Hospital was also on-site to attend to the driver.
The rescue operation last about 40 minutes. The driver was conscious when conveyed to Singapore General Hospital.
From SCDF’s statement, there appeared to only be 1 casualty in the incident.
Thankfully, he was conscious when the medical team took him to Singapore General Hospital (SGH).
Kudos to SCDF, SGH’s emergency medical team, and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) for responding to the incident quickly.
MS News wishes the driver a smooth recovery.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook.
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