3-year-old girl and grandma injured after falling down stairs on double-decker bus

Stomper Joreen's three-year-old daughter and mother-in-law were injured after falling down while they were trying to alight from a bus on Feb 2.

According to Joreen, the pair were onboard the upper deck of SBS Transit bus service 5 at around 12pm when the incident occurred.

The two of them were trying to alight from the double-decker bus at Bukit Merah Bus Interchange, but fell down the stairs.

Joreen, who was not at the scene, told Stomp: "I was at work when I received a call from my mother-in-law about the incident.

"She said the two of them were trying to alight from the bus when my daughter fell down due to a sudden movement.

"My mother-in-law immediately held on to my daughter's arm, but fell down the stairs too.

"They both landed on the lower-deck of the bus."

Joreen, who contributed photos of her daughter's injuries, said that the child sustained scratches and bruises on both arms and legs, on her back, as well as on the back of her head.

The Stomper added: "My mother-in-law, who is in her 60s, suffered some scratches and bruises on her legs and forehead area but declined going to the hospital.

"I brought my daughter to Thomson Medical on the same day."

Joreen's main concern is to find out what exactly happened on the bus that led to the fall.

"My daughter is traumatised and all she could tell me was that she rolled down the stairs," she said.

In response to a Stomp query, Ms Tammy Tan, SBS Transit's Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications, said: "We are sorry to hear about the incident and hope that both her mother-in-law and daughter are feeling better.

"We have completed our investigations into the incident which include viewing the CCTV footage.

"We note that the bus was stationary at the alighting berth when her mother-in-law and daughter, who were seated on the upper deck, got up to make their way towards the stairs.

"By the time they got to the top of the stairs, the last passenger on the lower deck had already alighted.

"The bus captain was not aware of anyone else wanting to alight and he proceeded to close the doors and slowly moved off.

"Unfortunately, both her mother-in-law and daughter who were making their way down the stairs at this point, lost their balance and fell.

"Our bus captain immediately stopped the bus to check on them when this happened.

"An interchange staff also came on board to attend to them and he offered to call for an ambulance which her mother-in-law declined.

"We wish the mother-in-law and daughter a speedy recovery."