On Jan 29, 1983, seven people died when two cable cars plunged into the sea after the derrick of an oil-drilling vessel, Eniwetok, struck the cableway.
It was the first fatal accident since the cableway began operations in 1974. This was also the worst disaster that Singapore had experienced since the Spyros accident in 1978.
Rescue operations were conducted to save the remaining thirteen passengers who had been trapped in four other cabins between Mount Faber and Sentosa.
The rescue planning team was headed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, a Singapore Armed Forces colonel at the time.
Several options of retrieving the people from the cars had been considered before the team decided to use military helicopters to mount a mid-air rescue.
The plan was to lower winchmen to the cable cars to bring passengers up to the helicopters.
Despite concerns about the night flying conditions as well as the movement of the cars due to the downdraught from the helicopters’ rotor blades, the option was eventually given the go-ahead.
Rescue operations commenced at about 12.45 am on Jan 30, following a successful practice run using an empty cable car.
Two Bell 212 helicopters, each with a crew of four, were deployed to rescue the trapped passengers.
The whole operation was finally completed at about 3.45am. All those rescued were taken to the Singapore General Hospital.
The day after the collision, then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew ordered an official inquiry into the causes of the accident.
The commission’s findings revealed that the accident was due to an unfortunate combination of factors that would not have caused the tragedy if they had not coincided on that fateful day.
It identified the failure of the towing mechanism as the trigger but named a few parties as being responsible for the accident, due to gross negligence.
They included the ship’s master and chief officer, as well as the Port of Singapore Authority-appointed pilot.
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It was the first fatal accident since the cableway began operations in 1974. This was also the worst disaster that Singapore had experienced since the Spyros accident in 1978.
Rescue operations were conducted to save the remaining thirteen passengers who had been trapped in four other cabins between Mount Faber and Sentosa.
The rescue planning team was headed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, a Singapore Armed Forces colonel at the time.
Several options of retrieving the people from the cars had been considered before the team decided to use military helicopters to mount a mid-air rescue.
The plan was to lower winchmen to the cable cars to bring passengers up to the helicopters.
Despite concerns about the night flying conditions as well as the movement of the cars due to the downdraught from the helicopters’ rotor blades, the option was eventually given the go-ahead.
Rescue operations commenced at about 12.45 am on Jan 30, following a successful practice run using an empty cable car.
Two Bell 212 helicopters, each with a crew of four, were deployed to rescue the trapped passengers.
The whole operation was finally completed at about 3.45am. All those rescued were taken to the Singapore General Hospital.
The day after the collision, then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew ordered an official inquiry into the causes of the accident.
The commission’s findings revealed that the accident was due to an unfortunate combination of factors that would not have caused the tragedy if they had not coincided on that fateful day.
It identified the failure of the towing mechanism as the trigger but named a few parties as being responsible for the accident, due to gross negligence.
They included the ship’s master and chief officer, as well as the Port of Singapore Authority-appointed pilot.
Continue reading...