25YO NSman Dies After Collapsing During NS FIT Exercise in West Coast Park

A 25-year-old operationally ready national serviceman (NSman) died on Wednesday (Mar 2) evening, after collapsing during a Health Promotion Board (HPB) quick high intensity interval training (HIIT) session at West Coast Park.

Collapsed at the Start of Main Exercise

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) NSman was participating in the session as part of the NS FIT programme.

He collapsed at the start of the main exercise after completing the warm-up, said the HPB and the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) in a statement on Thursday (Mar 3).

“He was immediately attended to on site by trainers who are from HPB’s external vendor,” they said.

“The trainers, who are cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) trained, administered CPR and AED on the participant.”

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted to the incident at 7.41pm. The man was taken by ambulance to the National University Hospital at 7.55pm.

The SCDF continued resuscitative efforts on site as well as on the way to the hospital.

The ambulance arrived at NUH at 8.23pm. The man was pronounced dead at 9.21pm.

Join our Telegram channel for more entertaining and informative articles at https://t.me/goodyfeedsg or download the Goody Feed app here: https://goodyfeed.com/app/ 

All HIIT Sessions Suspended

All HPB quick HIIT sessions are suspended until 6 March while investigations are ongoing and safety practices are reviewed, HPB and MINDEF added.

The NS Fit programme was introduced in collaboration with HPB and Sport Singapore last year as a fitness programme designed to encourage NSmen to lead active and healthy lifestyles.

“In all HPB physical activity programmes, on-site safety briefings and well-being checks are conducted prior to the commencement of each session,” the statement said.

“HPB, Ministry of Defence and the SAF extend their deepest condolences to the family and are assisting the family in their time of grief,” HPB and MINDEF added.

Latest NSman Death Since 2019

This marks the latest death of an NSman since 2019.

In January 2019, Corporal First Class Aloysius Pang sustained severe chest and abdominal injuries when the barrel of a self-propelled Howitzer was lowered while he was repairing it with two other SAF personnel during Exercise Thunder Warrior.

Pang, who was also a Mediacorp actor, died four days later on 24 January.

While investigations on the recent death are currently ongoing, please respect the family of the NSman and don’t spread fake news.

Read Also:

Featured Image: Screengrab from Google Maps