17 injured after collision in Bukit Batok interchange which saw a bus plunge 2m, landing on its side

SINGAPORE — A collision between two buses at Bukit Batok interchange on Sunday (July 11) afternoon injured 17 people, leaving one of the buses lying on its side after it plummeted 2m.

Both were buses on route 945, a feeder service operated by Tower Transit.

Five were seriously hurt though none of the injuries were life threatening, TODAY understands.

A spokesperson said the police were alerted to the incident at 5.05pm, and 14 people were taken to the hospital. Police investigations are ongoing, she said.

In a Facebook post, Bukit Batok Member of Parliament Murali Pillai said one of the buses was pulling into the interchange while the other was heading out.

“The impact caused one of the buses to mount a kerb and fall to its side,” said the MP, who also thanked Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) rescuers for their efforts.

The SCDF said its personnel assessed 17 people for injuries. "Eight were conveyed to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, four to National University Hospital, and two to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. The remaining three had minor injuries and refused conveyance to the hospital," SCDF said.

Mr Melvin Yong, executive secretary of the National Transport Workers' Union, said the 17 injured comprised the two drivers of the affected buses, 14 passengers, and an SBS Transit (SBST) bus captain who was having a break when he got injured by the falling bus.

One Tower Transit driver was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, while the SBST driver was taken to the National University Hospital. Both bus captains were in stable condition, Mr Yong said in a Facebook post.

The other Tower Transit driver did not sustain any serious injuries and was not conveyed to hospital.

One eyewitness, interior designer Isaac Tan, 29, said he was walking near the bus interchange with a friend when he heard a loud noise at around 5pm.

They turned to see that the bus had smashed past the green barricade separating the elevated bus terminal from an adjacent road around 2m lower, which was used by other buses to enter and exit the interchange.

He saw the bus fall onto the road below, landing on its left side with a loud bang. The bus was carrying “a big load” of panicked passengers within.

Mr Tan said: “There wasn’t enough time for people inside to escape before the bus fell. The rear window was smashed, and I saw three or four passengers exit through it. The others remained inside the bus.”

The incident caught the attention of many passers-by as well as terminal staff, who rushed over to the scene.

When rescuers arrived, several of the elderly passengers had to be carried away on stretchers, and some of them appeared to be unconscious. A saw had to be used at one point to free trapped passengers, Mr Tan said.

He added that the rescue operation took around 30 minutes.

Many were bleeding from their wounds, including the bus driver of the fallen bus, Mr Tan added. The other bus was driven away and had a shattered windscreen.

Police officers were also at the scene to cordon off the accident site, while bus services continued.

TODAY has reached out to Tower Transit for comment.

CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this story stated that 16 people were injured. The figure has been updated to 17, according to SCDF.