[UPDATE] Critically injured OCBC Cycle rider dies
[UPDATED 2 April, 2014: 240pm]
A cyclist who was in critical condition after fracturing his skull on Sunday's OCBC Cycle Singapore event has died.
"We are deeply saddened by the passing of Mr Chia Wee Kiak. We would like to express our deepest condolences to the family. Spectrum Worldwide and OCBC will continue to extend all the support needed to Mr Chia’s family in this very difficult time," said event organisers Spectrum Worldwide in a Facebook post on Wednesday afternoon.
24-year-old Chia Wee Kiak, a full-time National Serviceman, underwent 13 hours of surgery at Singapore General Hospital on Monday to relieve blood clots on both sides of his brain but failed to recover from his coma.
"We have respected the family’s wishes to only post this message after their official announcement," it added.
Chia began cycling three years ago and was taking part in the 59km Super Challenge category in Singapore's biggest cycling event which started at the F1 Pit Building, reported local media.
He reportedly crashed 15-20 minutes after the 5:15am flag-off from the F1 Pit Building and fell while on a downslope from the Benjamin Sheares Bridge towards Tanjong Rhu. It's still unclear if he fell on his own or was involved in a crash with others.
The accident has raised concerns if there were adequate emergency services on standby at the mass cycling event, currently in its fifth edition.
Event organisers Spectrum Worldwide said in a Facebook post on Monday they were notified of the accident at approximately 5.39am and medical personnel attended to him within three minutes. It added that he was then sent to SGH by an ambulance and arrived there at 5.55am, although it later apologised and clarified the ambulance arrived at SGH at 6.14am.
However, a Facebook reader Matthew Chin disputed this and said it took much longer for the first responder to arrive.
"OCBC, get your facts straight. You did not respond in 3 minutes. It took more than 20 minutes for the medic on the scooter to arrive. How do I know? I arrived at the crash site just minutes after Mr Chia fell. We waited for what seemed like forever for someone to arrive. That's my story and I'm sticking to it," he said.
Spectrum Worldwide is still "gathering facts from eye witnesses to understand what happened to Mr Chia including obtaining the footage from LTA (Land Transport Authority)".
They also said there were six event doctors and 16 event medics, 10 ambulances and nine fast response paramedics on duty at the event, which drew close to 12,000 participants.
The serious accident resulted in delayed starts for the other ride categories on Sunday, which meant some riders could not complete their events on time.
"We have also received feedback from participants on other aspects of this year’s event, including the route and safety, as well as the delayed starts of certain ride categories. Whilst our current priority is the above incident, we thank you for your feedback and will respond as soon as possible," said the organiser.
