Five dead as car crashes into Tanjong Pagar shophouse early Saturday morning

SINGAPORE — Five people died while one was sent to hospital with burn injuries, after a car slammed into the front of a shophouse at Tanjong Pagar Road on Saturday (13 February) morning.

In a statement to Yahoo News Singapore, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that it was alerted to a fire at 37 Tanjong Pagar Rd at about 5.40am.

"The fire involved a car and the front of a shophouse. SCDF extinguished the fire with three water jets and one compressed air foam backpack," it said.

"Five persons were pronounced dead at the scene. One person was sent to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) for burn injuries. Cause of the fire is under investigation."

Police said that preliminary investigations revealed that the car was driven by a 29-year old male driver with four male passengers on board. It was believed to have sped along Tanjong Pagar Road before colliding into a shophouse and catching fire.

They added that a 26-year-old woman, who is believed to be known to the driver of the car, had attempted to assist the driver and the passengers after the accident. She suffered severe burns to her body and was conscious when conveyed to SGH.

The Land Transport Authority announced a road closure on Tanjong Pagar Road (towards Murray Street) after Maxwell Road at 7.30am.

SBS Transit said that bus services 80 and 145 were being diverted from Tanjong Pagar Road (towards Hoe Chiang Road), with 10 bus stops skipped due to the accident.

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