Hotel New World: Rescuer dug for survivors until his hands bled
Singapore Red Cross volunteer is still affected by Hotel New World collapse 31 years ago
Exactly 31 years ago on this day, Mr David Yeo was resting in his Kitchener Road home at 11.25am when he heard what he thought was a bomb going off.
He ran to his balcony to see a big cloud of dust where Hotel New World stood. Then he realised: The building was gone.
Mr Yeo, then a newly married 32-year-old production supervisor, told The New Paper: "I rushed down in my singlet and slippers. Police stopped me from entering the site, but after I showed them my Red Cross (identification), they let me in to help with rescue operations."
The Hotel New World disaster claimed 33 lives.
The six-storey building was reduced to rubble in less than a minute.
Located at the junction of Serangoon Road and Owen Road, it had housed a 67-room hotel, a branch office of the Industrial & Commercial Bank and a basement carpark.
Mr Yeo, now 63, said: "It was very chaotic, everybody was panicking... We could hear people crying."
The Singapore Red Cross (SRC) volunteer since secondary school started digging into the rubble with his bare hands.
Said Mr Yeo: "You couldn't see anything because the dust was so thick, so we had to listen out for sounds."
He eventually helped pull several people out of the rubble. They were covered in sand, and some were bleeding badly.
Mr Yeo dug for a few hours until his hands started bleeding. Other rescuers, including those from the Singapore Civil Defence Force, continued.
He said: "It took more than half an hour to pull out each person. I would have continued, but I was very tired."
When rescue operations ended four days later, 17 survivors had been saved.
The last survivor, a 46-year-old woman, had spent 83 hours in total darkness.
On March 21, the final 12 bodies were uncovered after workers cleared the remaining rubble and removed more than 30 cars.
Mr Yeo, who now runs a digital printing company and is also a photographer, said he is still traumatised.
He said: "When I go into dark caves overseas to take photos, I still think of being in the rubble and hearing people crying. Sad memories cannot be erased."
His experience affirmed his decision to volunteer with SRC.
Mr Yeo said: "If you join SRC, you learn a lot of things.
"If you have basic lifesaving skills, you are prepared for any emergency."
Hotel New World collapse: Volunteer thankful for opportunity to help 31 years ago
She was only 17 when the Hotel New World disaster happened.
When Red Cross volunteer Pat Jeanisa Ng, now 48, called headquarters to offer her help, she did not expect to be sent into the disaster zone.
Miss Ng, who has been with the Red Cross since Primary 2, was stationed at an Indian vegetarian restaurant across the road from the collapsed hotel.
Her job was to offer food and drinks to family members waiting for news of survivors.
When her superiors wanted people who could speak Chinese dialects, Miss Ng volunteered, not knowing what she was in for.
"I didn't know I was going to the mortuary at first, but my seniors felt I was mature enough to speak to the families there," said Miss Ng, who speaks Cantonese, Hokkien and Hakka.She recalled helping an elderly widow who spoke Hakka.
The woman's only son was working in the bank in the building.
He had just graduated from university, and she had pinned all her hopes on him.
The widow was called to identify her son's body after a few hours. She was relieved when he was not in the first room, but she found him in the next one.
Miss Ng said: "She leaned on me and wailed. We sat her down and talked to her for a long time.
"After that, I hid in an ambulance and cried for half an hour."
Miss Ng, an arts manager in a local theatre company, has since sat on the Red Cross Youth Counciland served at the command centre for the Red Cross operation in Aceh after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.
She is grateful she could help the relatives of the Hotel New World disaster victims.
"Sometimes words are not necessary. My experience back then helped me to be a listening ear and to serve the most vulnerable."
How to volunteer
If you wish to volunteer to support the Singapore Red Cross (SRC), you can apply online at redcross.sg
You can donate blood at the four Bloodbanks in Outram, Dhoby Ghaut, Westgate in Jurong East and Woodlands.
You can also donate money and learn more about SRC programmes on its website. Upcoming events include Flag Day on April 22, where you can volunteer to be a flag bearer at srcfd2017.splashthat.com and World Blood Donor Day on June 10.
Those who want to volunteer as event helpers can e-mail volunteer@redcross.sg
How to be a volunteer
If you wish to volunteer to support the Singapore Red Cross (SRC), you can apply online at redcross.sg
You can donate blood at the four Bloodbanks in Outram, Dhoby Ghaut, Westgate in Jurong East and Woodlands.
You can also donate money and learn more about SRC programmes on its website. Upcoming events include Flag Day on April 22, where you can volunteer to be a flag bearerat srcfd2017.splashthat.comand World Blood Donor Day on June 10.
Those who want to volunteer as event helpers can e-mail volunteer@redcross.sg
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