SINGAPORE – Admiralty residents celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival at a playground on Friday night got a shock when a tree fell near them.

No injuries were reported.

Sembawang GRC MP Poh Li San told The Straits Times that the Sembawang Town Council was informed of the incident just after 9.20pm on Friday night.

The team from the town council’s department of horticulture arrived at about 9.45pm and removed the 10m-tall tree with the help of conservationists, she said.

Five workers and one lorry crane were deployed, and the tree was cleared by 10.45pm.

Ms Poh said the tree had signs of internal decay and a termite infestation, according to an arborist who checked the fallen tree on Saturday.

She said: “Our half-yearly inspection was not able to detect any problems with this tree as no visible termite trail could be seen on its trunk and also no signs of dieback or defoliation.”

Dieback is the gradual deterioration of health in trees, sometimes leading to tree death, while defoliation is the process of leaves falling off a plant.

Ms Poh added that the town council has engaged an arborist and a pest control team to check trees in the surrounding area for signs of termites and to treat them accordingly.

“We will continue to monitor the trees in the estate in the next few months, especially with the strong winds during the year-end monsoon period. Safety is our top priority and we will take all precautions to prevent such a reoccurrence,” she said.

Eyewitnesses told Chinese daily Shin Min Daily News that as the Mid-Autumn Festival fell on Friday, many children and their parents were out walking with lanterns at the playground.

A resident identified only as Mr Zhuang said he was at home when he heard a loud noise outside his window.

The 44-year-old said: “I quickly looked out of the balcony and saw a tree falling downstairs. There were a group of children and adults in the playground at the time. Fortunately, no one was hit.”

Other residents whom Shin Min spoke to said there was no strong wind or heavy rain when the tree fell.

A 66-year-old private hire driver who gave his name only as Manny said he saw termites crawling out of the tree’s trunk and stump after it fell.