A tipper truck involved in an accident in the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) tunnel at around 10.50am yesterday caused the exit to Nicoll Highway to be closed.

It took almost six hours for the truck to be removed from the scene.

Photos sent by a Straits Times reader showed the truck tilted awkwardly to its left, blocking most of the exit. Several motorists who had stopped their vehicles behind the truck tried to help the driver get out of his damaged vehicle.

A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) spokesman said the driver, a man in his 60s, was taken conscious to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

The Straits Times understands that the truck had hit a wall, causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle, which then hit a divider.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) tweeted about the closure of the Nicoll Highway exit towards the East Coast Parkway at 10.53am.

The SCDF sent a fire engine, a fire bike and an ambulance to the scene.

The Straits Times understands that it took two cranes to move the truck aside in an operation that began at 3.08pm and ended at 4.14pm.

An LTA spokesman said: "LTA deployed cranes and a towing vehicle to recover the truck, cleared the area of debris and conducted all necessary safety checks before reopening the exit at 5.15pm."

The police are investigating the incident.

• Additional reporting by Mark Cheong

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Tipper truck hits KPE divider. str.sg/4utj