SINGAPORE - The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) had to prise open a taxi's roof to rescue two female passengers following an accident in the early hours of Saturday morning (July 10).

The accident, which involved a ComfortDelGro taxi and a sedan, happened at the junction of Selegie Road and Rochor Canal Road towards Bukit Timah Road.

The SCDF said it received a call for assistance at about 2.50am. Its officers arrived to find the taxi lying on its side, with its roof against a concrete barricade.

Two people were found trapped in the back seat, it said in a Facebook post.

The driver of the car, aged 22, and the cabby, aged 65, were outside their vehicles and conscious when rescuers arrived.

They were taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), the SCDF said.

Photos from the SCDF's Facebook post show that the taxi's right side was crushed, while the car's bonnet was crumpled and its front bumper was detached.

Firefighters from Central Fire Station used equipment to stabilise the taxi, before rescuers from the SCDF's Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team cut out the front windscreen and prised open the vehicle's roof using hydraulic rescue equipment.

The two female passengers, aged 41 and 47, were extricated after about an hour and were taken to TTSH with traumatic injuries, said the SCDF.

All four people involved in the accident were conscious when taken to hospital.

The police are investigating the accident.

Ms Tammy Tan, group chief branding and communications officer at ComfortDelGro, said the traffic lights appeared to be faulty at the junction where the accident happened.

"We are deeply sorry about the accident... We are already in touch with the third-party driver and our taxi driver, who are both under observation at the hospital. Our priority is in trying to get in touch with the passengers who were on board our taxi and to assist them the best we can."