Recalling the dramatic sinkhole incident, one of the foreign workers who helped in the rescue said the hole was about three meters deep. He and his coworkers had no time to feel afraid; they were focused only on saving the trapped driver.
Thanks to their teamwork, they managed to rescue the female driver from the sinkhole within five minutes, reported Zaobao.
The rare incident happened on Saturday (July 26) at about 5.50pm, at the junction of Tanjong Katong Road South and Mountbatten Road. Dashcam footage circulating online showed a Mazda car making a left turn into the junction when the road suddenly caved in and swallowed the car without warning.
The site of the incident was near a Public Utilities Board (PUB) construction area outside the One Amber condominium.
Several foreign workers who were working nearby rushed over and helped pull the driver out of the car, preventing what could have been a tragic outcome.
As of now, more than 21 hours after the incident, authorities have yet to release the female driver’s age.
Worker who rescued the driver: It happened so fast, all within five minutes
One of the workers involved in the rescue, Pitchai Udaiyappan Subbiah, 46, told the media the entire incident happened in a flash, taking less than five minutes from start to finish.
“I heard a loud bang and walked over to see that a car had fallen into a hole. At that time, water had not yet flooded in.”
He estimated the sinkhole to be about three meters deep. But no one hesitated; all they thought about was getting the woman out. He immediately called his coworkers over and threw a rope into the sinkhole to help the driver climb out.
“The woman opened the car door on her own and climbed out of the car. Then she grabbed onto the rope we threw down and pulled herself up.”
Subbiah said the driver appeared unharmed after getting out and only mentioned that her phone was still inside the car. So he lent her his own phone so she could call her daughter.
He also shared that he has been working in Singapore for 22 years and has never encountered such a rare accident.
“Everything happened so fast. We only focused on getting her out, there was no time to think of anything else.”
Car lifted out 21 hours later
About 21 hours after the incident, the black Mazda that had fallen into the sinkhole was finally lifted out. After almost a full day of pumping water, the car was hoisted from the hole by a crane at around 2pm on Sunday.
From what could be observed, the car’s body appeared relatively intact, but the windscreen and other windows were badly damaged. As the car was lifted, mud and dirty water poured out of it.
The Public Utilities Board will continue repair works to fill up the sinkhole, though it is currently unclear when the road will reopen to traffic.
Tanjong Katong Road South, between Mountbatten Road and East Coast Parkway, will remain closed for works. Due to the closure, bus services 36 and 48 will be diverted to avoid several stops along Marine Parade Road, Amber Road, Mountbatten Road, and Tanjong Katong Road.
