A bus captain narrowly escaped after a bus nearly fell on top of him at the Bukit Batok Interchange on July 11, 2021.

The incident occurred after a collision between two buses at the interchange that sent 14 people to the hospital, including five who sustained more serious injuries, and saw one bus land on its side.

Post-accident photos shared on social media showed a bus had flipped onto on a ramp at the interchange.

According to Bukit Batok MP Murali Pillai and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), the accident occurred as one bus was pulling into the interchange while the other bus was pulling out.

Narrow miss

On July 12, CCTV footage of the accident emerged on social media.

The footage appeared to have been leaked online as it was a video of a playback of what appears to be a security camera recording.

The video shared by (buses[IN]gapore!) Facebook page showed the bus smashing through the railing at the interchange.

As the bus tipped over, a man who appeared dressed as a bus captain fell almost 2m onto the road below.

It is unclear from the video if he had fallen out from the bus, or the bus had knocked him over from the road above.

After the man landed on the ramp below, he appeared to tuck into himself and narrowly avoided being crushed by the falling bus.

However, as the bus landed on its side, it hit the railing that had fallen on the ground, which in turn, hit the man's head.

SCDF rescuers had to cut their way through bus

SCDF shared in a Facebook post on July 11 night that they were alerted to the incident at about 5:05pm.

Eight people were trapped inside the bus, while nine were found outside.

SCDF rescuers entered the bus through its shattered rear windscreen, while more rescuers used an electrical saw to cut through the front windscreen to create an additional entry point.

Once inside, rescue equipment was used to cut several poles to clear the way for the people to be rescued safely.

Although 14 people were conveyed to three different hospitals, a total of 17 people were assessed for injuries. However, the extra three had minor injuries and refused to be conveyed to the hospital.

Two people had to be carried off the bus on stretchers.

Two injured bus captains in stable condition

Melvin Yong, Executive Secretary of the National Transport Workers' Union and Member of Parliament for Radin Mas SMC, said in a post that three bus captains were affected by the accident.

One Tower Transit bus captain is currently receiving medical treatment at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, while an SBS bus captain was sent to the National University Hospital. Both bus captains are in stable condition.

The third bus captain did not sustain any serious injuries and was not conveyed to hospital.

Yong said the National Transport Workers' Union has reached out to all three bus captains to provide them with the necessary support and assistance.

One bus captain suspended

In another statement by Tower Transit, the bus captain who was driving the bus that collided into the one that fell onto the ramp, has been suspended pending police investigations.

Tower Transit is assisting the police in this case.

The company apologised to passengers involved in the accident and those who were inconvenienced by it.

Meanwhile, services at Bukit Batok Interchange have not been disrupted and continue as per normal.

In response to Mothership's queries, Tower Transit provided an update on July 12.

It said that most of those who were sent to the hospital have since been discharged. Tower Transit will continue to check in on them over the coming days.

Safety reminders have also been issued to all Tower Transit staff.

"The wellbeing of our staff and passengers is paramount at this moment, and we will do our best to support them and their families, and assist with their medical and insurance claims," Tower Transit said.