Singapore — A 60-year-old man hit a fence with his bicycle and fell into a canal on Saturday (Jul 10). He was not only injured but swept inland due to the current.
Fortunately, the man’s friends and the SCDF responded quickly and rescued the man.
He had gone on a bike tour along with two friends last Saturday morning at East Coast Park, and was said to be riding at a fast pace when he lost control of his bike and collided into a fence.
This occurred at around 9 o’clock that morning.
The impact of the collision was so strong that it threw him off his bike and into a canal between the National Sailing Centre and the National Service Resort and Country Club (NSRCC), according to Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao.
Witnesses at the scene from the National Sailing Centre say they saw the man struggle in the water because of his injuries.
The Chinese daily reports that he was soon swept along hundreds of metres by the currents, and that the tide when the man fell into the canal was at around 1.38 metres.
However, the man’s two friends jumped into the canal at once to rescue him. They tied a rope around his waist when he was about 250 metres from where the impact from the collision threw him into the waters.
At this point, he was in great pain due to his injuries and was unable to move.
Fortunately, officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) heard about the incident shortly after 9.00 am arrived quickly and assessed the extent of the man’s injuries, jumping into the canal along with him.
They put him on a stretcher, and he was carefully lifted out of the water by the SCDF officers, who used a ladder and ropes.
He was suspected of having sustained a fracture and other torso and leg injuries, and was brought to Changi General Hospital to be attended by medical personnel.
Lianhe Wanbao added that it was fortunate that the tide had been high at the time the man fell into the canal, since it served as a cushion to the impact. Had it been low tide, he may have suffered more serious injuries. /TISG
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