67-year-old man's hand trapped in water pipe for 11 hours

SINGAPORE - Mr Chai Tong Seng shouted himself hoarse for more than six hours on Wednesday (Feb 22).

The 67-year-old man had bellowed for help after his right hand was trapped in a water pipe, Lianhe Wanbao reported.

He had wanted to clean out the water pipe around noon, as it had not been washed thoroughly in two years. Unfortunately, he overestimated the girth of the pipe and was unable to retrieve his hand.

The Chinese daily reported that Mr Chai had endured 30 minutes of pulling before deciding to shout for help.

He was alone at his Hougang Road home at that time, as his wife had left for work.

It was only at around 7 pm when neighbours finally heard Mr Chai's cries for help.

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A woman who lives on the same floor as Mr Chai had left the house to buy dinner for her family when she heard faint groaning sounds. She was surprised to hear the same noise when she returned home.

After alerting her father, the pair peered into Mr Chai's home and discovered that he was in distress.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) arrived at his home on the seventh floor shortly after and spent more than three hours attempting to free Mr Chai's arm.

Officers had to request entry to a sixth-floor unit to cut off the conjoining water pipe with an electric drill.

Mr Chai was finally freed at around 10.40pm.

When Lianhe Wanbao visited Mr Chai at the hospital, reporters observed that the man's right arm was bandaged, while his shoulder was red.

Mr Chai explained that he had manually cleaned out his water pipe for the past 20 years without any incident.

He added that he suffered from high blood cholesterol and felt dizzy during the ordeal.