SINGAPORE/CANBERRA — For most Singaporeans, the 1983 Sentosa cable car disaster is a distant memory. But the dramatic incident 33 years ago is still clearly etched in the mind of retired Australian naval officer Geoffrey Ledger, who played a key role in the rescue of 13 people trapped in four cars after an oil rig snagged the cable system.

“I’ll never forget the night of Jan 29, 1983, I still get quite emotional talking about it,” said Mr Ledger, 61, who flew one of the two helicopters sent to rescue the trapped passengers in pitch dark and high wind conditions. The rescue effort, which lasted three and a half hours, was the first time helicopters were deployed for a night mission in Singapore.

“It was a dark, wet night, and it was some harrowing flying,” recounted Mr Ledger, who was in Singapore then on an exchange to help build up the search and rescue capabilities of the Republic’s air force.

He did not have to participate in the Sentosa rescue operation, but said he chose to do so “because I was very proud to be serving my country in Singapore, and I was there to teach search and rescue”.

In a speech to a joint session of the Australian Parliament on Wednesday (Oct 12), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong paid tribute to Mr Ledger’s bravery and cited the Sentosa rescue as one of many instances where Singapore and Australia worked closely together at the national as well as personal level.

“Our two countries cooperate closely on security issues and humanitarian mission.... I know these not just as abstract principles, but through personal experience,” said Mr Lee, who directed the Sentosa rescue operations in 1983 as a colonel in the Singapore Armed Forces.

The incident, one of Singapore’s worst disasters, occurred when the derrick of the drill ship Eniwetock snagged the wires of the cable car system, causing seven people to plunge into the sea and 13 people to be trapped in cable cars.

The rescuers considered several options, but eventually decided to send in two Bell 212 military helicopters for a mid-air rescue.

Winchmen were lowered from the helicopters into the cable cars to bring the passengers up. Mr Ledger piloted the second helicopter that rescued seven of the 13 survivors.

The rescue required immense concentration, said Mr Ledger.

“It was a torturous time. The only area I had as a hover reference was one of the wires, and I was listening to my winch operator telling me how close I was getting to the cables,” he added.

“My winchmen also had to pacify the survivors as they had been there for five to six hours completely not knowing what was going on. Some were badly injured, I could hear them screaming as we came close in the helicopters.”

The rescue operation concluded successfully at about 3.30am on Jan 30.

“When we landed (back at their base in Sembawang), it was again, very emotional,” said Mr Ledger, who received the silver commendation award from the Singapore Government for his role in the rescue.

“After the debrief, we hugged each other to say that it was a great effort. We realised we had probably made national history.”