School van that dived into Pang Sua Canal had hit SMRT bus, 14-year-old girl among 3 taken to hospital
A school van ended up in Pang Sua Canal on Aug 19 after it hit an SMRT bus.
It was earlier reported by Stomp that the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) used a ladder to gain access into the drain and rescued three people.
The police told Stomp that they were alerted to the accident along Bukit Panjang Road towards Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) at around 1.10pm.
"A 68-year-old male mini-bus driver and his two female passengers, aged 14 and 53, were conveyed conscious to the hospital."
The two adults were taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, while the teenager was taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital.
Stomper Jon shared photos of the scene while rescue efforts were ongoing and said an SMRT bus was involved in the accident.
Mr Vincent Gay, deputy managing director of SMRT Buses, said bus service 970 was travelling straight along Bukit Panjang Road when it was hit on the side by a private school van exiting from a slip road.
"There were no reported injuries among the passengers on bus service 970 at the time of the incident," Mr Gay said in response to a Stomp query.
All passengers were safely transferred to another bus to continue their journey.
Mr Gay added: "We understand that there were passengers in the private school van who were conveyed conscious to the hospital, and our Care Team is getting in touch with them. We are co-operating with the police in their investigation."
Photos taken by Stomper Germaine at around 3.37pm show the van being hoisted out of the drain.
She said: "There was a traffic jam and a crane was lifting the van up."
The van, which bore the logo of International Community School, was operated by Goh Transport.
International Community School and Goh Transport said in a joint statement that none of the school's students were involved in the accident, as classes were ongoing at that time. The van was being used to ferry students from another school.
Police investigations are ongoing.
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