Two men rescued from rubble after tree collapse at Alexandra Hospital
Two men were trapped in rubble on Thursday afternoon after a tree on the grounds of Alexandra Hospital fell onto a building they were in, according to Singapore Civil Defence Force in its Facebook page.
The two men were later brought to the accident and emergency department at the hospital for treatment.
The tree that fell onto the building was 3 metres in diameter and 15 metres in height. The single-storey building, approximately 20 metres by 10 metres, was a pre-war building that was undergoing the finishing touches of a refurbishing project, according to local media reports.
SCDF was alerted to the incident at 2:49pm and subsequently dispatched two fire engines, a red rhino, two firebikes, an ambulance and three supporting vehicles. The “intricate” operation took them 40 minutes to rescue the first person, and an additional 45 minutes to extricate the second one.
Before rescuing the two men, SCDF officers stabilised the tree and the building to prevent further damage. Hydraulic cutting and lifting equipment were used to make space and rescue the men.
Local media reports also mentioned that there were four persons in the building, but the other two managed to escape from the rubble by themselves before SCDF arrived.
According to The Straits Times, the two who escaped were a staff member from Jurong Health and a contractor. Both escaped with minor injuries.
