Miraculous escape: Driver jumps out seconds before crane topples over and crushes van in Sengkang
SINGAPORE (The Straits Tims/ANN): The driver of a van jumped out of his vehicle in the nick of time before a crane fell on it and left it in a crumpled mess in Sengkang.

Eyewitnesses The Straits Times spoke to said they saw the accident unfold on the afternoon of April 9, at a construction site in Punggol Road, near the junction of Compassvale Street.

Information technology engineer Anant Pradhan, 47, said he saw the crane getting loaded up onto a truck when it toppled.

Mr Pradhan, a Sengkang resident, said: “While they were loading the crane, the driver of the van must have seen the crane moving and toppling, so he jumped out of the van and went over to the other side of the road.

“He was very lucky that he didn’t get hurt.”

In a photograph taken by a Straits Times reader, the fallen crane can be seen lying on its side, with its boom stretching across the width of the road and resting on a white van, which appeared crushed by the impact.

Emergency medical workers were seen at the accident site.

Responding to queries, a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) spokesman said it was alerted to the accident at 4.55pm.

One person was taken to Sengkang General Hospital, he added.

A driver who was behind the van when the accident happened and gave his name only as Mr Mamz, said the van was used to ferry children to school, and the driver had just dropped a child off before the accident.

He said: “His van had stopped at a red light... He saw the crane toppling, and he was out within a split second. I was about two cars behind him when it happened. Everyone jumped out of their cars.”

Mr Mamz added that he knew the driver and they were both self-employed. He said the driver told him that his shoulder and the back of his head were hurting.

“He said he was in terrible pain,” he added.

The van appears to have been crushed by the impact of the fallen crane boom arm. - ST PHOTO: ANDREW WONG

Housewife Madam Tan, 60, who lives across the road from the accident site, said she was at home when she heard a loud crash.

She said: “After that, I heard a lot of whistles being blown. So, I came out to see what happened. Very lucky that only one vehicle got damaged.”

Another resident, Mr Lim, 60, a private-hire driver who did not give his full name, said he heard a loud bang, and went to his window to see what had happened.

He said: “We are used to construction sounds here because of the work that is going on but this was exceptionally loud.

“I saw the driver crawling out to the opposite side of the road... It was fortunate he wasn’t hit.”

Eyewitnesses said there was no one was in the crane’s cabin when the accident took place.

There were about five police cars at the accident site and numerous police motorcycles were blocking the road.

A poster on the construction site’s hoarding indicates that the worksite is the location of a national water agency PUB project, operated by construction firm Building Construction Co.

A representative from the firm, Mr Jack Wong, in a phone call, said the crane is owned by construction equipment firm Ten-League.

A group of about six construction workers wearing fluorescent vests and helmets arrived at the accident site at about 7:20pm.

At 7:45pm, the crane still had not been moved.

A spokesman for the Manpower Ministry said it was investigating the accident.

The Straits Times has contacted the police, PUB, and Ten-League for more information. - The Straits Times/ANN
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The driver of a van jumped out of his vehicle in the nick of time before a crane fell on it and left it in a crumpled mess in Sengkang.