Bus collision at Bukit Batok interchange: 5 with 'more serious injuries' among 14 taken to hospital

Bus collision at Bukit Batok interchange: 5 with 'more serious injuries' among 14 taken to hospital
Two drivers and 14 passengers were involved in the accident.
PHOTO: The Straits Times/Kua Chee Siong

SINGAPORE - Two buses were involved in an accident at Bukit Batok Bus Interchange on Sunday afternoon (July 11), leaving one on its side.

The buses, both of which were plying the feeder service route 945, are operated by Tower Transit.

A spokesman for the operator told The Straits Times that 16 people were involved in the accident - two drivers and 14 passengers.

All 14 passengers were on the bus that flipped. The other bus was not carrying any passengers when the accident occurred at about 5pm.

The spokesman could not confirm the extent of injuries suffered by those involved, although Bukit Batok MP Murali Pillai posted on Facebook that five people had "more serious injuries".

"None suffered life threatening injuries," he said.

Those that needed treatment were taken to hospital.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said it received a call for assistance at 5.05pm, and that its personnel arrived to find eight persons inside the bus that was lying on its side. Another nine persons were found outside the bus.

The rear windscreen of the bus, which had shattered, served as an entry point for SCDF rescuers. The rescuers created an additional point of entry at the front of the bus by using an electrical saw to cut through the front windscreen.

Once inside, rescue equipment were used to cut several poles off so as to create space for the casualties to be rescued safely. Two persons were carried off the bus on stretchers by SCDF rescuers. The remaining six persons were guided on foot out to safety, SCDF said in a Facebook post at 8.52pm.

SCDF’s Emergency Medical Services personnel assessed a total of 17 persons for injuries. Eight were sent to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, four to National University Hospital, and two to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. The remaining three had minor injuries and refused conveyance to the hospital, it said.

The accident is believed to have occurred when one bus - the one without passengers - was making a U-turn within the interchange. It collided with the second bus, which was making its way into the interchange.

As a result of the collision, the second bus smashed through a low fence and landed on its side, on a ramp that serves as an entry and exit point for other buses.


The accident is believed to have occurred when one bus was making a U-turn within the interchange and collided with the second bus. PHOTO: The Straits Times/Kua Chee Siong

After the accident, all bus services at the interchange, which is usually served by two wings, were shifted to one wing, as the bus that flipped blocked the entrance to the other.

When ST got to the scene at about 6.30pm, bus services were running normally. Marshals deployed by Tower Transit were calling out the numbers of bus services that had been diverted to the remaining wing, and were directing passengers to the correct area to hop onto the buses.

Some curious onlookers remained at the scene of the accident, where one bus was seen with its windscreen smashed, and the other still on its side.

Police officers were on scene for crowd control, blocking access to those trying to get a better view of the wreckage.

Prior to the arrival of the police, photos circulating on social media showed a crowd on a bridge overlooking the ramp where the bus was lying on its side.

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This article was first published in The Straits TimesPermission required for reproduction.

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