As at Sunday 9pm, 23 people were discharged from hospital while 21 remain in stable condition, said Senior Minister of State for Transport Murali Pillai, followng the collision of two public buses on Sunday morning.
Others are undergoing medical reviews, Pillai said in a Facebook post.
“I am deeply grateful to our responders who did a superb job in dealing with the situation. My thoughts are also with all who sustained injuries. Wishing them a full and speedy recovery, ” he added.
The collision occurred along Jurong West Avenue 1 and involved two double-decker buses, operated by Tower Transit and SBS Transit on Sunday morning.
A bus on service 98, operated by Tower Transit, rear-ended a stationary bus from SBS Transit service 99.
Photos of the aftermath of the accident show the buses were badly damaged with glasses from shattered windscreens strewn on the ground.
44 people, including the 2 bus drivers, were taken to hospitals.
At least three police cars, two ambulances, two SCDF vehicles and two tow trucks were seen at the accident site.
SCDF reported it found a person trapped in the driver’s seat of a bus, and was rescued using hydraulic rescue equipment.
Several people were injured according to media reports.
The Strait Times reported that Madam Gao, 63, who saw the aftermath of the accident said “she saw three passengers being attended to. Two of them were lying on a grass patch, and the third was near a pavilion.”
71-year-old Madam Rosie Lian was at a nearby coffee shop when the buses collided.
She said she saw many injured people, including an elderly woman whose nose was bleeding and a man with his head bandaged.
Madam Peh Li, 72, lives in a HDB flat near the accident site and was home at the time of the accident, said she saw an elderly man bleeding from his mouth, and a family of four sitting on a grass patch with wounds on their faces and legs.
A 70-year-old woman was injured in the accident, according to the woman’s son Mr Wu.
He said his mother was seated on the lower deck of bus service 98 and was thrown sideways when the buses collided, causing her to sustain bruises and lacerations, reported the Straits Times.
His mother has since been discharged from hospital, Mr Wu added.
Jurong Central SMC MP Xie Yao Quan said on a Facebook post that he had visited the accident scene and was “deeply grateful to the first responders who arrived at the scene promptly to attend to the injured and convey them to hospitals.”
“I am glad to note that LTA and both operators have commenced investigations into the accident, and I look forward to their findings.”
“We must continue to keep the public bus system safe and reliable for all commuters,” he said.
