Woman Killed by Falling Tree Was Wearing Noise-Cancelling Earbuds & Could’ve Missed Sounds of Tree Falling

On 18 Feb 2021, a 38-year-old woman, Loke Xiao Li, was crushed by a falling tree while out for a jog at Marsiling Park.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted to the incident at about 8.15am but by the time they got her out from under the branches, she has unfortunately passed away.

Woman Killed by Falling Tree Was Wearing Noise-Cancelling Earbuds & Could’ve Missed Sounds of Tree Falling

According to her sister, 44-year-old Gillian Loke, she was wearing noise-cancelling earbuds when the incident happened.

If she hadn’t been wearing the earbuds and listening to music while running, she might’ve heard the sound of the falling tree and escape in time, she said.

Eyewitnesses in the area said they heard a loud crack when it happened.

One side of the earbuds that Ms Loke wore was damaged while the other remained pristine.

A Sunny Day

On the day of the incident, it was a sunny day with no wind.

In stark disbelief, Loke said that the family would never have thought this would happen to her sister.

A passionate motorcyclist, her family had initially thought she was in a road accident, and not at the park.

It was added that the victim had only picked up running recently.

Trees Last Inspected In Apr 2020

The tree was identified as a 20m-tall Araucaria excelsa, with a girth of 1.3m, by Dr Leong Chee Chiew, commissioner of parks and recreation at the National Parks Board. The Araucaria excelsa is also known as a star pine tree.

When the tree was checked last year in April, it was deemed to be healthy.

NParks is currently investigating the cause of the fall

“We are investigating the cause of the tree fall,” said Dr Leong. “We are sad that there was one fatality. Our priority now is to accord assistance to the family of the deceased.”

The case has been classified as a case of unnatural death and investigations are ongoing.

Feature Image: Google Map / GO DESIGN / Shutterstock.com