Mother and daughter killed after car plunges into Alexandra Canal near Valley Point Shopping Centre

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This is the route a car exiting the carpark of Valley Point Shopping Centre would take.
Three tow trucks hoist the crashed car out of Alexandra Canal on Jan 25, 2016. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
People watch as a car which crashed into Alexandra Canal is hoisted by three tow trucks. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
A man cycles past the car which crashed into Alexandra Canal on Jan 25, 2016. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Unidentified people crying at the scene of the crashed car. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
SCDF officers have installed a ladder near where the car is suspected to have plunged into the canal, to help with rescue operations. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Divers conducting search and rescue operations in Alexandra Canal after a car plunged into it, near Valley Point Shopping Centre on Jan 24, 2016. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
SCDF officers carrying one of the victims from the scene of the accident, on Jan 24, 2016. ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG
SCDF officers carrying one of the victims of the accident on Jan 24, 2016. ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG
SCDF officers performing CPR on one of the victims of the accident on Jan 24, 2016. ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG
SCDF officers attending to one of the victims of the accident, near Valley Point Shopping Centre, on Jan 24, 2016. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Police officers standing near the site of the accident on Jan 24, 2016. ST PHOTO: DAVID FOGARTY
Police officers standing near the site of the accident on Jan 24, 2016. ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG
A rescue diver leaving the scene of the accident on Jan 24, 2016. ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG
An aerial view of the site of the accident on Jan 24, 2016. ST PHOTO: DAVID FOGARTY
People looking on at the scene of the accident on Jan 24, 2016. ST PHOTO: DAVID FOGARTY
Police and SCDF personnel at the site of the accident on Jan 24, 2016. ST PHOTO: DAVID FOGARTY
Paramedics at the scene of the accident on Jan 24, 2016. ST PHOTO: DAVID FOGARTY
SPF and SCDF vehicles at the scene of the accident on Jan 24, 2016. ST PHOTO: DAVID FOGARTY
SPF and SCDF vehicles at the site of the accident on Jan 24, 2016. ST PHOTO: DAVID FOGARTY
SPF and SCDF vehicles at the site of the accident on Jan 24, 2016. ST PHOTO: DAVID FOGARTY
SPF and SCDF vehicles at the site of the accident on Jan 24, 2016. ST PHOTO: DAVID FOGARTY

SINGAPORE - The bodies of two women, believed to be mother and daughter, were recovered after a car plunged into Alexandra Canal on Sunday (Jan 24) night.

According to Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao, the two women were both long-haired and fair-skinned. One wore a T-shirt with black and white stripes.

Eyewitnesses told The Straits Times that a silver Mercedes emerged from the carpark of Valley Point Shopping Centre in River Valley Road at around 9pm.

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A new railing has been erected along the part of Alexandra Canal where a Mercedes-Benz E250 had crashed through and plunged into the water killing its driver and passenger. However, there are no distinct tyre markings on the grass; the bushes which an eyewitness had said the car drove through before diving into the canal are remain upright, except for some scratches on the stems. People and passers-by are puzzled as to what caused the accident that killed Madam Lep Lay Choo, 51, and her daughter Kimberly Poon, 22.

It drove straight into the bushes next to Alexandra Canal before hitting the water.

A 33-year-old man, who saw the accident happen but declined to be named, told The Straits Times: "I heard a loud bang as the car hit the barrier before it went straight into the canal."

The police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force arrived shortly after, as about 200 people gathered near the canal and the mall to see what was happening.

A floodlight was installed and a ladder placed at the spot where the vehicle was believed to have entered the water.

The Straits Times understands that the bodies of two women have been retrieved from the canal. Their nationality and age are unknown.

Investigations are ongoing.

On Dec 22, 1993, a Ford Laser plunged into the Singapore River near the junction of Boat Quay and Tew Chew Street at about 5am. The 22-year-old driver drowned in the accident.

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A similar accident happened two years earlier, on March 27, 1991. A taxi driver blacked out behind the wheel and drove into the Singapore River at high tide about 100m from the scene of the December 1993 accident. The cabby was rescued by a hawker who dived into the river after witnessing the accident.

And on June 24, 1989, five people were killed when a Toyota Corolla plunged into the Singapore River near Clarke Quay during heavy rain.

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