Six hospitalised after private bus hits MRT
pillar
SINGAPORE : Six people were warded in hospital after a private bus
they were travelling in hit an MRT pillar at Upper Changi Road East
on Wednesday morning.
Twenty-seven others escaped with minor injuries in the accident at
the junction of Upper Changi Road East and Bedok Road, near the
Tanah Merah MRT Station.
Eyewitnesses told Channel NewsAsia the bus, which was carrying
factory workers - many of them dozing off - was heading towards
Simei when the crash occurred at about 7.10 am.
Just after the traffic light junction with Bedok Road, the driver
apparently lost control of the vehicle, mounted the central divider
and smashed head-on into an MRT pillar.
There was panic and screaming as everyone lurched forward and seats
fell apart.
Many bystanders and passing foreign workers helped pull the injured
out.
Eight to 10 ambulances arrived at the scene moments later and
rushed the injured, which included the 36-year-bus driver, to
Changi General Hospital.
Of the six warded, three suffered head injuries, one had a
fractured ankle, one was hurt on the chest while another had back
injuries.
The oldest is a 67-year-old Chinese woman who suffered head
injuries.
The rest have been discharged after receiving outpatient treatment
for cuts and bruises.
There was no harm to MRT passengers and no disruption of MRT
services.
There was also no damage to the MRT pillar.
The front of the bus was badly damaged.
The owner of the bus company told Channel NewsAsia the bus had a
tyre puncture and that may have led to the accident.
Police are investigating the cause of the accident.
This is the second such accident in a year.
Last April, the driver of a private bus was killed when it hit an
MRT pillar at Commonwealth Avenue.
Fifteen passengers on the bus suffered cuts and bruises in that
accident.
"I hear shouting, everybody was shouting, everybody on the floor. I
just grabbed the seat but at last I fell down because my leg was
painful. But most fell down. Even the seats came out on top of the
people. It is terrible. I hear them shouting and crying," an Indian
woman passenger said of the latest accident.
"My mother, she injured her leg, now having x-ray done, just hope
she's okay," said Jeanna Seow who rushed to the Changi General
Hospital after the accident.
Also at the hospital were many anxious and worried relatives.
With a swollen knee, 47-year-old Lachime was more worried for the
safety of her friends, one of whom she fondly referred to as Poh
Chye.
Her 25-year-old friend was sitting in front of her when the
accident occurred.
He fractured a left ankle and was the first to be warded.
Lachime said: "He was lying down and the seat was on top of his
leg. He can't move the leg. He was asking for help to carry him,
one of the Indian guys helped him. There were many people coming to
help us, mostly Indian labourers who were on their way to work.
They stopped their lorries, all came out to pull the people."
Zaleha Ibrahim was stealing some sleep when she was flung to her
knees.
She had a swollen arm, bruises and scratches on her chest and
back.
Foreign worker Mani Vannan and his three friends felt that it was
their unlucky day!
They had missed their company bus by just two minutes, leaving them
with no choice but to take the private bus to work.
Most of the passengers Channel NewsAsia spoke to were visibly
shaken and traumatised by the accident.
However, they were grateful to be safe.