SINGAPORE - A man was lowered from the top of a 16-storey-high tower crane in a dramatic rescue on Saturday night (Nov 21) after he became ill while operating the crane.

The man was not trapped or injured, but was too weak to descend from the operator cabin on his own, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said.

Officers from the SCDF elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) reached the man by climbing the tower ladder.

They secured him with safety lines and a harness before lowering him to safety in a basket stretcher, SCDF said.

The incident happened at a construction site along Woodlands Drive 73, at about 5.30pm on Saturday.

In a video posted on SCDF's Facebook page, a stretcher was carefully lowered while SCDF officers guided it safely to the ground. The video has been watched about 16,000 times since it was posted on Saturday night.

"The rescue operation, lasting 90 minutes, was conducted cautiously as it was drizzling and nightfall was approaching," said the post on SCDF's Facebook page.

SCDF said their paramedics provided first aid to the man before he was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.