A 41-year-old woman was rescued after she was found sitting precariously on a 16th-floor stairwell ledge at an HDB block in Sengkang, prompting a tense late-night operation involving police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) rescuers.
The woman was spotted at Block 123B Rivervale Drive shortly after 9pm on Sept 14, according to reports.
A resident living on the 17th floor later noticed the emergency response unfolding outside her home. Police officers and SCDF personnel had arrived at the block as they worked to reach the woman safely.
One resident, 63-year-old Feng Jingting, told Chinese-language newspaper Shin Min Daily News that her son alerted her to the situation at around 11pm.
When Feng opened her door, she saw SCDF officers preparing rescue equipment outside her flat.
She also recalled hearing the woman say, “Nobody understands me” twice before police officers instructed her to close her door.
The situation continued for more than two hours before the woman was eventually brought to safety at around 11.25pm.
SCDF said it received a call for assistance at about 9.30pm and deployed its Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team, known as DART.
Rescuers set up nets as a precaution while a safety life air pack was positioned at the foot of the block.
DART officers then rappelled down from a unit above the woman to carry out the rescue.
The operation required rescuers to work carefully around the narrow ledge while ensuring the woman could be brought back into the building safely.
The woman was eventually rescued and taken to hospital while conscious.
Police subsequently said she was apprehended under Section 7(1) of Singapore’s Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act 2008.
The incident left residents shaken, particularly those living on the upper floors who could see the rescue operation taking place outside their homes.
Feng, who has lived at the block for 28 years, said she had never encountered an incident like this there before.
The successful rescue brought an anxious night to an end, with emergency responders managing to reach the woman before anyone was seriously hurt.
The incident also highlights the risks faced by emergency crews when responding to people in dangerous positions on high-rise buildings, where even a small movement can have potentially serious consequences.
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