One worker was knocked out cold by the impact, but regained consciousness later. A second broke his nose. The 10 workers were taken to the Singapore General Hospital; eight were treated for minor injuries.

The crash occurred on the East Coast Parkway at 8.45am. After the minibus had hit the truck, a taxi crashed into it.

The minibus was ferrying 20 Chinese nationals working for a construction firm to the Ministry of Manpower. They were going to collect their work permits.

The impact of the crash sent 34-year-old Meng Xiangping hurtling forward. He hit his knee on the metal hand-rest of the seat in front.

'Everything happened in a flash. I was talking to a friend one moment and, the next thing I knew, I was thrown forward,' said Mr Meng, who has an eight-year-old son back in Anhui, China.

The crash renewed calls for seat belts to be fitted in all minibuses. The appeals began in April, when schoolboy Russell Koh, eight, was killed after being flung out of a minibus which had collided with two cars.

The Transport Ministry acted last month, ordering that new school vans must come with seat belts.

It will also carry out a study to determine if existing school vans should be fitted with lap belts or more expensive cross-body belts.

When contacted by The Straits Times, Aljunied GRC MP Cynthia Phua said that more should be done.

She called for seat belts to be installed as soon as possible in all minibuses, especially those for children: 'When it comes to safety, time is of the essence. Accidents can happen anytime.'

At the very least, she said, lap belts should be installed.

Mr Si Shenghe, 31, who suffered chest pains from yesterday's collision, agreed: 'It would have been better if there were seat belts on the bus. Then I wouldn't have flown out of my seat and slammed against the seat in front.'