Singapore—A 38-year-old woman died in Marsiling Park after a tree fell and trapped her on Thursday morning (Feb 18).
The police were alerted to the incident at 8.15 am. They found the woman lying on the ground, motionless under the tree.
The tree, a 20m-tall Araucaria excelsatree, had last been inspected less than a year ago in April 2020 and was deemed healthy.
Officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) also received an alert. When they arrived at 20 Woodlands Centre Road, they saw a woman trapped under a tree that had fallen.
The SCDF officers attempted to rescue the trapped woman using cutting equipment.
However, she was pronounced dead at the scene by an SCDF paramedic.
Her death is now under police investigation.
According to CNA, the tree that had fallen on the woman was still partly submerged in the pond and had not yet been moved by Thursday afternoon. The surrounding area was also blocked off.
Officers were seen investigating the scene.
CNA quoted a witness as saying that he had been on a bridge nearby when he heard “a very loud splash.”
When he turned, he saw that a tall tree had fallen into the water.
He heard another bystander calling for help and then saw that a woman was trapped under the tree. She was wearing exercise clothes.
The witness, 15-year-old Kayden Teo, told straitstimes.com: “We were walking across the bridge (over the pond) and heard a loud crack and a splash. A tall tree fell and we ran over to help a woman who was stuck underneath it.”
Another witness said that 10 to 15 people tried to get the tree off the woman and even took away some branches to make the tree lighter so the woman could be pulled out from under its weight.
However, they were unsuccessful.
The woman was still alive, conscious and gasping for air, when they tried to save her, the eyewitness said.
When the emergency personnel arrived, the bystanders were asked to step aside.
The National Parks Board (NParks) said it is investigating why the tree fell.
“We are sad that there was one fatality. Our priority now is to accord assistance to the family of the deceased,” said NParks’ commissioner of Parks and Recreation Dr Leong Chee Chiew.
/TISG
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