Singaporean paraglider helps pull out mum and daughter from rubble

He and fellow Belgian paraglider found them trapped inside hotel when they dashed in, fearing a tsunami

A scene of devastation in Palu after the earthquake. With the scale of the disaster still unclear, communication patchy and some areas still out of reach, families are posting photos, descriptions of lost family members and contact numbers on social media in the hope of learning more. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A resident makes his way through debris inside a mall wrecked by a tsunami at Talise beach in Palu, Central Sulawesi. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
A collapsed bridge in Palu. The 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the capital of Central Sulawesi province last Friday. PHOTO: REUTERS
Singaporean paraglider Ng Kok Choong waiting to be evacuated on Saturday at Palu airport, where the air traffic control tower was toppled in the quake. PHOTO: COURTESY OF NG KOK CHOONG
Belgian paraglider Francois de Neuville with the little girl he and Mr Ng rescued from the Mercure Hotel in Palu. PHOTO: COURTESY OF NG KOK CHOONG
Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh Indonesia Correspondent In Jakarta
Updated
Published
October 1, 2018 at 5:00 AM
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For two hours, Mr Ng Kok Choong crouched in the darkness of a half-collapsed hotel comforting an Indonesian woman trapped by a fallen concrete slab, as tremors continued to shake the ground.

The Singaporean was in Palu for a paragliding competition when a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the capital of Central Sulawesi province in Indonesia last Friday.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 01, 2018, with the headline Singaporean paraglider helps pull out mum and daughter from rubble. Subscribe

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