Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

2 women killed after car plunges into Singapore River

SINGAPORE — Two women were killed after a car they were in plunged into the Singapore River near Valley Point Shopping Centre this evening (Jan 24).

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp

SINGAPORE — Two women were killed after a car they were in plunged into the Singapore River near Valley Point Shopping Centre this evening (Jan 24).

Eyewitnesses said they saw the car exit the mall shortly before the crash, which happened at around 9pm.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said divers from its Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team manually extricated the two women from the fully submerged car. Both women were pronounced dead at the site.

Police investigations are ongoing.

About two-and-a-half hours after the incident, a man and woman who appeared distraught arrived at the scene, where a crowd of onlookers in the hundreds had gathered.

 

UPDATE: A truck has arrived on site and will be helping to retrieve the submerged car out of the Singapore River. Story: http://bit.ly/1KxYCd2(Video: Toh Ee Ming/TODAY)

Posted by

on 

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Mr Mike Lee, 47, a journalist, had just finished having dinner at Valley Point Shopping Centre when he saw the car exiting the mall’s car park and diving into the river.

He called the police and officers arrived soon after, alongside personnel from the SCDF, which sent one fire engine, one Red Rhino, one ambulance and four support vehicles.

“I saw the car coming from the carpark, smash through the barrier and going nose first into the canal. My first guess is that it must have been someone who was just learning how to drive and accidentally stepped on the wrong pedal ... It seemed improbable that something like this would happen.” 

He added: “It felt surreal ... We were just enjoying a quiet Sunday and this happened ... My prayers go to the bereaved families.”

Mr Shawn Koh, 30, who works in the construction industry, was in the kitchen of his fifth-floor flat at Delta Avenue when he heard a loud bang.

He had dismissed the noise, telling his wife it probably came from the unloading bay of the mall but decided to go downstairs to check what happened.

He saw one of the bodies being retrieved from the waters. Pointing out that the river has a history of drowning cases, he said: “I grew up here ... It’s very sad what happened.”

Another Delta Avenue resident, who only wanted to be known as Mr Hanz, 30, said: “I heard this metallic screeching noise (first). From my window, I had a bird’s eye view of what happened ... I saw the stone (bollard) and barricades (toppled) into the river from the impact.”

He saw a group of joggers who stopped in their tracks, shocked by what they had seen.

A few minutes later, first responders arrived, said Mr Hanz, who is self-employed. 

“The police and SCDF officers were very fast and professional. I saw them do cardio-pulmonary resuscitation for about five to 10 minutes.”

He added: “This canal is famous for these sort of incidents.”

There have been several reported cases of crashes ending with cars diving into the Singapore River over the years. The worst happened near Clarke Quay on June 24, 1989, which killed five people. The 31-year-old driver of the Toyota Corrola was later found to have been drunk at the time of the accident.

Four years later, a 22-year-old driver drowned in the Singapore River near the junction of Boat Quay and Tew Chew Street after his Ford Laser plunged in at about 5am on Dec 22.

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.