Worker stranded after suffering stroke on top of Whampoa East tower crane

SINGAPORE - A 39-year-old worker has been rescued by the SCDF Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) team after he reportedly suffered a stroke at the top of a tower crane at Whampoa East.

A Stomp contributor had earlier received word of a man being stranded at the top of a tower crane and reported the incident to the citizen journalism website.

The reader said that the tower crane operator had suffered a stroke while working on Tuesday morning.

According to the contributor Ayul, the worker reported feeling numbness from the waist down. He also said that the crane was about 13 to 14 storeys high.

SCDF said in a statement that it received a call about a man who was feeling unwell. The man was situated about 40m above ground in a construction site.

While the man was not injured or trapped, he was too weak to descend on his own from the tower crane's operator cabin.

SCDF DART rescuers gained access to the man by climbing the tower ladder and secured him with safety lines and a harness before lowering him to safety. The entire operation took about 80 minutes.

Paramedics at the site rendered medical assistance to the man and conveyed him to the Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

ljessica@sph.com.sg