25-year-old NSman dies after NS FIT programme at West Coast Park

HPB, MINDEF and the SAF have extended their condolences to the family and are assisting the family in their time of grief.

Low Jia Ying| March 03, 2022, 11:08 AM

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A 25-year-old operationally ready National Service man (NSman) died on Wednesday (Mar. 2) after he collapsed during a Health Promotion Board (HPB) Quick HIIT session at West Coast Park.

The man was a participant of the Quick HIIT session, which is part of the NS FIT programme.

Collapsed at the start of main exercise

According to a joint statement by the Ministry of Defence and HPB, the man had collapsed at the start of the main exercise after completing the warm up.

He was immediately attended to on site by trainers who are from HPB's external vendor.

The trainers, who are cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) trained, administered CPR and AED on the participant, HPB and MINDEF said on Thursday (Mar. 3).

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted to the incident at 7:41pm.

The man was subsequently conveyed to National University Hospital (NUH) via ambulance at 7:55pm.

"The SCDF continued resuscitative efforts on site as well as en route to the hospital. The ambulance arrived at NUH at 8:23pm and he was pronounced dead at 9:21pm," HPB and MINDEF said.

All HPB Quick HIIT sessions suspended till March 6

The statement said in the interim, all HPB Quick HIIT sessions are suspended until Mar. 6, 2022 while investigations are on-going and safety practices reviewed.

HPB and MINDEF said: "In all HPB physical activity programmes, on-site safety briefings and well-being checks are conducted prior to the commencement of each session."

The NS FIT programme is a fitness programme introduced in 2021 designed to encourage NSmen to adopt "active and healthy lifestyles by bringing NS fitness activities nearer to the community".

"HPB, Ministry of Defence and the SAF extend their deepest condolences to the family and are assisting the family in their time of grief," added HPB and MINDEF.

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