Elite rescuers called in to save trapped man in lorry accident along ECP

SINGAPORE — A 34-year-old man was taken to hospital on Thursday (Oct 31) after the lorry he was driving flipped onto its side, pinning him to his seat. The accident happened along the East Coast Parkway (ECP).

The Singapore Civil Defence Force’s (SCDF's) elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Dart) managed to extricate the man after more than three hours.

SCDF said that it had received a call for assistance about a road traffic accident, which occurred on the expressway after the Tanah Merah Coast exit, at about 4.20pm.

“Upon SCDF’s arrival at the accident scene, a tipper truck was found lying on its side. Its cabin was crushed inwards and the driver was pinned in his seat,” it said in a Facebook post on Thursday night.

Describing the rescue operation as “delicate” and “complex”, SCDF said that a truck-mounted crane was used to stabilise the tipper truck in order to minimise movement and not aggravate the “precarious condition of the trapped driver”.

Dart rescuers then “manoeuvred delicately” within the confined space between the cabin and rear tipper box, and used a slew of hydraulic rescue equipment to cut their way through the badly crushed cabin to get to the trapped driver.

“Upon ultimately gaining access, Dart rescuers then freed the trapped driver through the passenger side of the tipper truck,” SCDF said.

“Besides SCDF’s paramedics, an emergency medical team from Changi General Hospital was also on-site to support SCDF’s rescue operation.”

Photos posted on the SCDF Facebook page showed that skies were already dark by the time the driver was freed from his position.

When contacted, the police said that they were alerted to the accident at about 4.15pm.

“A 34-year-old male driver was conscious when taken to Changi General Hospital. Police investigations are ongoing,” they said.