One person was killed and 16 injured in a bus accident which took place near Tuas Checkpoint in Singapore early morning today.
The mishap took place at about 4:25 am as the bus collided with a railing at 501 Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
In the accident, a 35-year old female bus passenger was pronounced dead at the scene by the SCDF paramedics.
The bus driver was trapped in his seat and had to be rescued by SCDF using hydraulic rescue equipment.
SCDF also found two women at the foot of the flyover. One of the women had sustained serious injuries, and the other was pronounced dead at the scene by an SCDF Paramedic.
The bus driver and 11 passengers were conveyed to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and National University Hospital by SCDF ambulances.
“There were four other passengers assessed with minor injuries and they refused conveyance to the hospital,” said SCDF.
Police investigations are ongoing.
Due to the accident, the traffic towards Singapore came to a standstill for two hours.
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) of Singapore first alerted motorists to the accident in a Facebook post at 5.20am. It said buses and lorries were unable to enter the checkpoint at arrival and advised motorists to use Woodlands Checkpoint instead.
At 6.05am, it said the heavy vehicle lane was blocked due to the accident and that buses and lorries were being diverted back to Malaysia.
Around 7am, ICA said that traffic for arriving and departing cars and motorcycles was back to normal.
In the final update to the public at about 10am, ICA said it reopened the heavy vehicle lane for arriving buses and lorries. However, traffic heading towards Singapore was still heavy due to the morning peak period.
“Travellers are advised to check One Motoring website before embarking on their journey,” it added.