A tree cutter was killed yesterday afternoon when he was hit by a falling branch.

The victim, believed to be a 45-year-old Indian national called Mr Ganesan, had been sitting on a branch 10m above the ground when he was struck, knocking him off and leaving him suspended by his safety harness in a forested area behind Kheam Hock Road.

He was lowered to the ground by his co-workers, but was found to be unresponsive, and was pronounced dead by Singapore Civil Defence Force paramedics just before 4.30pm.

The victim had been working in Singapore for the past six years.

The police have classified the case as an unnatural death.