Heroes on how they helped save man trapped under truck
The duo were about to cross a road on Wednesday morning when they heard a loud sickening crunching sound.
IT senior executive Andrew Tung, 35, told The New Paper yesterday that it sounded like bones being crushed.
Mr Tung and his colleague, associate engineer Hung Tee Keong, 47, turned around and saw a man lying face down under a truck, with one of his legs pinned under a rear tyre at the junction of Bendemeer and Boon Keng roads.
The men were shocked to see the victim, who was wailing in pain.
THE NEW PAPER, JULY 23
Mr Tung and Mr Hung were part of a group of about 30 people who came together in a remarkable display of public spiritedness to rescue the man.
Their heroic act was captured on a 1½-minute video clip, which has since gone viral with more than 300,000 views. In the video, the men looked like they were in a flash mob, gathering and then vanishing just as quickly.
Mr Tung and Mr Hung, who are both employees of automotive supplier Continental Automotive, were walking towards a nearby hawker centre for lunch at around 11.45am that day when the man, believed to be a 35-year-old South Korean, was trapped in the accident.
TRAPPED
Mr Tung said: "I didn't see the accident. But when I turned around, I could see only the top half of the man as he was stuck under the truck.
"He was shouting in a foreign accent, 'Help! Help!' and sounded desperate. He was wearing a suit and handsome, like a K-pop star."
Mr Tung added that the driver realised what had happened only after he got out of his truck.
"He looked stunned and appeared like he didn't know what to do," said Mr Tung.
"A passer-by said, 'Let's help the victim together.' That's when we decided to lift the vehicle to free his leg. We held onto the sides of the truck and tried to move it."
The vehicle refused to budge at first as there were only about 10 people trying to lift it. So Mr Tung called out to his other colleagues who were passing by. Other passers-by also helped.
Mr Hung said: "Soon the number grew to about 30 people, about half of them were our colleagues.
"When the truck finally lifted, the man was pulled out from under the vehicle. We were very relieved that we managed to rescue him."
The Straits Times reported yesterday that another Continental Automotive employee was one of two men who pulled the victim to safety.
The Filipino design engineer, who wanted to be known only as Dennis, had said: "I did it instinctively. I was afraid those lifting the truck would get tired, so I made sure to keep as low as possible.
"An Indian man helped me. The two of us managed to pull him out. It happened very quickly."
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and the police said they received a call for assistance at 11.50am on Wednesday.
An ambulance was deployed to the scene and the man was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. He was conscious and had a fractured leg.
The 25-year-old truck driver has been arrested and investigations are ongoing.
The SCDF also created a Facebook post asking for the Good Samaritans to come forward.
It said: "Proof that you don't have to be in a costume to be a superhero."
Mr Hung told TNP yesterday that his arms were still sore from lifting the heavy truck.
"But it's worth it as we had all worked together to help the injured man," he said.
I didn't see the accident. But when I turned around, I could see only the top half of the man as he was stuck under the truck.
- Mr Andrew Tung
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