Update: A 65-year-old bus driver was arrested for a rash act causing grievous hurt.
Photos and videos of a public bus lying on its side in Bukit Batok following a collision that injured 17 people have been circulating online since yesterday.
The incident at the Bukit Batok bus interchange yesterday evening left one of the two service 945 buses damaged and its windshields completely shattered. The two buses had hit each other when one of them was entering the area while the other was exiting, according to Bukit Batok MP Murali Pillai. An investigation is underway.
“Heard about the tragic news of the bus accident at the [Bukit Batok] Bus Interchange just before closing the cafe this evening. Went down to the scene after closing, by which time things were calmer. The bus was a wreck,” Chee Soon Juan said. He lost to Pillai in last year’s election but continued to monitor the neighborhood for issues and would highlight them on social media.
Pillai said that the crash caused one of the buses to mount the curb and fall to its side.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force, or SCDF, said that it was alerted to the incident at about 5:05pm. Eight people were found in the toppled bus while nine others were found in the other vehicle. Fourteen of those injured were taken to hospital while the remaining three declined treatment for their minor injuries, SCDF said.
Photos and videos that surfaced online also showed emergency responders attending to passengers on stretchers. SCDF also said that it had to remove several poles in the bus to rescue the passengers. Tow trucks were at the scene to remove the damaged bus and lug it away as onlookers watched.
“At around 2330hrs, Island Recovery performed the recovery of SBS6403H and subsequent towing for further investigation. Here is a documentation of the recovery operation as it happens,” YouTuber Afiq Azman said in the caption of his nearly seven minute clip.
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