Singapore: Driver dies in blaze after rental car catches fire following car park crash

The fire lasted for 15 to 20 minutes, before firefighters arrived. - DESMOND WEE/The Straits Times/ANN

SINGAPORE, Jan 8 (The Straits Times/ANN): A driver died while trapped in a rented car that caught fire after a collision in a carpark on Friday (Jan 7). The collision occurred in the open carpark at Block 42 Cassia Crescent, next to the Geylang Police Post.

A resident of the block, who gave her name only as Madam Ter, 47, said she was at home when she first noticed white smoke filling the air at around 3pm.

She and her husband went downstairs, where they saw a white Mazda 3 had crashed into a parked car. The car's bonnet was crushed and its cabin was filled with smoke, she said. It was not ablaze at that point.

Madam Ter, an administrator, said: "Initially, we weren't sure if there was someone still in the car, so we kept knocking on the window.

"Only when we heard movement in the car did we realise that there was still someone in there."

Alarmed, she asked her husband to call the police while she raced upstairs to get neighbours to help.

Wilkinson Tan, 47, a sales manager and a resident of the block, said: "My neighbours were calling for help and asked me to get a pail full of water to extinguish the flames.

"But by the time we could organise a response, we heard a loud explosion and the car burst into flames."

Mr Tan said a police officer had attempted to pull the driver out of the car but to no avail.

The fire lasted for 15 to 20 minutes, before firefighters arrived. The fire was put out at about 3.40pm.

The driver was pronounced dead at the scene by a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) paramedic.

The car was rented from car rental company @i_rent_you2 on Carousell.

The company's operations manager, who gave his name as Ong, said: "I rushed to the site when the police called that my car was involved in the incident."

Ong, 31, said that the car was rented to a man in his mid-30s.

Police said they are investigating, but foul play is not suspected based on preliminary investigations. - The Straits Times/ANN

The accident occurred in the open carpark at Block 42 Cassia Crescent, next to the Geylang Police Post. - DESMOND WEE/The Straits Times/ANN