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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>3 divers hurt by moving ship propeller
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Singaporean in critical condition; accident took place during cleaning </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Teh Joo Lin
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Mr Abdul Hamid, now in hospital with multiple injuries, is hooked up to a ventilator. His two co-divers have been discharged.
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THREE commercial divers were hurt in Singapore waters, one seriously, when the blades of an oil tanker's propeller suddenly started whirling while they were cleaning it.
Singaporean Abdul Hamid Buang, 44, is now in critical condition with multiple injuries at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH).
His co-divers, both Filipinos, were discharged from hospital shortly after the accident, which happened a week ago off Marina South Pier. They could not be reached for comment.
Though details of the accident are still emerging, it is known that the divers, who are employed by Divetech Marine Services, were cleaning the propeller of the Shetland Spirit when the incident happened at 12.50pm.
Members of the ship's crew may have started the engine, kicking the propeller - said to be about 7m in diameter - to life.
It is not known if there was miscommunication on board, or if the crew members thought the divers had already completed the cleaning.
'It happened very fast, very quickly,' said Mr Abdul Hamid's sister, who said she learnt of the incident from the Filipino divers.
Mrs Maimunah Buang-Colleoni, 37, said her brother was flung several metres away and disappeared out of sight from his co-divers and those on board.
'Then a wave came and they saw him floating. People quickly dived in to save him,' the housewife told The Straits Times.
When they brought Mr Abdul Hamid on to the deck, he was drenched in blood, but still conscious.
'He managed to say he had broken one of his legs and told them to be careful. He also told them his chest hurt. There was a lot of bleeding from the head,' his sister said.
Rescuers cut his wetsuit and discovered severe bruises on the left side of his chest.
Singapore Civil Defence Force ambulances took him and his co-divers, who had light injuries, to hospital.
The Bahamas-registered ship and its crew are being kept in Singapore waters while the police investigate the incident.
Mr Abdul Hamid's family members have been keeping vigil at the hospital for the past week and praying that he will not take a turn for the worse. He is hooked up to a ventilator.
The sole breadwinner, said to be an experienced diver, Mr Abdul Hamid is married. He has a 16-year-old daughter, who is preparing for her upcoming O levels.
'I can see he is in such agony. His energy and strength will never be the same, but luckily he was not pushed into the propeller, which would have been like a blender,' said Mrs Buang-Colleoni.
In June, a scuba diver in the United Arab Emirates was killed by a ship's propeller blades while he was checking the ship's engine.
The engineer was unaware that the diver was working, according to the Gulf News, which added that his body was never totally recovered. [email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Singaporean in critical condition; accident took place during cleaning </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Teh Joo Lin
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Mr Abdul Hamid, now in hospital with multiple injuries, is hooked up to a ventilator. His two co-divers have been discharged.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THREE commercial divers were hurt in Singapore waters, one seriously, when the blades of an oil tanker's propeller suddenly started whirling while they were cleaning it.
Singaporean Abdul Hamid Buang, 44, is now in critical condition with multiple injuries at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH).
His co-divers, both Filipinos, were discharged from hospital shortly after the accident, which happened a week ago off Marina South Pier. They could not be reached for comment.
Though details of the accident are still emerging, it is known that the divers, who are employed by Divetech Marine Services, were cleaning the propeller of the Shetland Spirit when the incident happened at 12.50pm.
Members of the ship's crew may have started the engine, kicking the propeller - said to be about 7m in diameter - to life.
It is not known if there was miscommunication on board, or if the crew members thought the divers had already completed the cleaning.
'It happened very fast, very quickly,' said Mr Abdul Hamid's sister, who said she learnt of the incident from the Filipino divers.
Mrs Maimunah Buang-Colleoni, 37, said her brother was flung several metres away and disappeared out of sight from his co-divers and those on board.
'Then a wave came and they saw him floating. People quickly dived in to save him,' the housewife told The Straits Times.
When they brought Mr Abdul Hamid on to the deck, he was drenched in blood, but still conscious.
'He managed to say he had broken one of his legs and told them to be careful. He also told them his chest hurt. There was a lot of bleeding from the head,' his sister said.
Rescuers cut his wetsuit and discovered severe bruises on the left side of his chest.
Singapore Civil Defence Force ambulances took him and his co-divers, who had light injuries, to hospital.
The Bahamas-registered ship and its crew are being kept in Singapore waters while the police investigate the incident.
Mr Abdul Hamid's family members have been keeping vigil at the hospital for the past week and praying that he will not take a turn for the worse. He is hooked up to a ventilator.
The sole breadwinner, said to be an experienced diver, Mr Abdul Hamid is married. He has a 16-year-old daughter, who is preparing for her upcoming O levels.
'I can see he is in such agony. His energy and strength will never be the same, but luckily he was not pushed into the propeller, which would have been like a blender,' said Mrs Buang-Colleoni.
In June, a scuba diver in the United Arab Emirates was killed by a ship's propeller blades while he was checking the ship's engine.
The engineer was unaware that the diver was working, according to the Gulf News, which added that his body was never totally recovered. [email protected]
