Prime mover driver dies after vehicle falls into sea at Keppel Terminal
A 44-year-old man, who was driving a prime mover, died after his vehicle went off the pier at Keppel Terminal and fell into the sea early on Tuesday morning
The police said that they received a call for assistance at 1.45am at 101 Keppel Road, while the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that upon its arrival at the accident site a trailer was seen at the edge of a shipping berth.
“The prime mover, which was attached to the trailer, had fallen into the sea and was fully submerged,” SCDF said.
It added that Port of Singapore Authority workers helped to prevent the trailer from moving, while divers from the SCDF’s Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team conducted an underwater search.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said its Marine Safety Control Centre was alerted to the incident at about 2am. An MPA patrol craft was deployed immediately to set up a cordon to assist in the rescue operations.
The SCDF added that the divers retrieved the driver’s body from the driver’s cabin of the vehicle from a depth of 14m and an SCDF paramedic pronounced him dead at the scene.
Responding to queries from The Straits Times, a spokesman for PSA Singapore said: “The driver’s body was recovered at 4.30am.
“PSA extends our heartfelt condolences to (his) family and, together with his employer, we will render support and assistance to them. There are no disruptions to port operations and investigations are ongoing.”
The police have ruled out foul play, based on their preliminary investigations, and said that investigations are ongoing.
MPA said the accident had “no impact on traffic movement in our port waters”.
The Straits Times has contacted the Ministry of Manpower for comment.
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