Red Lion parachutist stretchered off during National Day Parade after incident at landing

SINGAPORE — A member of the Red Lions parachute team was stretchered off from the Marina Bay Floating Platform after an incident during his landing at the National Day Parade (NDP) on Tuesday (Aug 9).  

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said in an update on 3rd Warrant Officer (3WO) Jeffrey Heng's condition an hour after the incident said that the parachutist was stable, alert and conscious, and was receiving medical attention.

"Let's all wish Jeffrey a quick recovery," he wrote in a Facebook post. 

Early on during the parade at about 6.10pm, the skydiver, who skidded instead of landing on his feet, fell upon touching down and was entangled in his parachute. 

He was the last of 10 parachutists to land during the 57th NDP.

Spectators at the parade went noticeably quiet during his landing. 

Medics then rushed out to carry him away on a stretcher.

The NDP hosts gave spectators an update of the parachutist's condition at about 7.15pm. 

The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) wrote in a Facebook post published around the same time: "On behalf of all of us at Mindef and SAF (Singapore Armed Forces), we wish our Red Lion 3WO Jeffrey Heng a speedy recovery. We would like to thank Singaporeans for their concern and support."

Last year, one of the Red Lions also had a hard landing during a test free-fall jump on July 15.

The skydiver, who was parachuting onto a field near Junction 8 mall in Bishan, had a flag attached to him that got caught in the grass as he was about to land.