SINGAPORE: A member of the Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) parachute team – the Red Lions – was slightly hurt after a landing went awry in a rehearsal for a parachute display for the upcoming Army Open House.

Third Warrant Officer (3WO) Sim Chee Jin had a hard landing on Tuesday (May 23) after strong winds pushed him into the path of his teammate’s parachute. He ended up entangled in the other person’s parachute and had minor abrasions on his arm.

Video of the incident shows at least three Red Lions jumpers tumbling as they landed. Medics were seen tending to 3WO Sim shortly after his teammate and another person moved to free him.

Said the SAF on the Singapore Army Facebook page: “Even our most experienced Red Lions jumpers have to deal with elements of nature such as strong and sudden ground wind direction changes, as well as the very tight landing strip between the stage and the grandstand seats beside the F1 Pit Building.”

Despite the accident, 3WO Sim was in high spirits. “Although there was a minor hiccup during my landing in this morning’s rehearsal jump, resulting in scrapes on my arm, the team is all set and ready to put up a good show for all this coming weekend!” he said.

The Army Open House will be held this weekend at the F1 Pit Building.

SINGAPORE: After more than a year of rehabilitation, two rare rescued turtles joined the SEA Aquarium’s marine life collection on Tuesday (May 23), Resorts World Sentosa said in a joint media release with SEA Aquarium.

One of them, a critically endangered male hawksbill turtle nicknamed Hawke, arrived at the aquarium on Mar 24, 2016.

The turtle, which was estimated to have been between five and eight months old at the time, was believed to have been abandoned by its owner, who had kept it illegally as a pet. It had developed a pyramided carapace – a shell deformity likely attributed to poor nutrition and care.

The other, an endangered green sea turtle that aquarists named Louie, was a week-old hatchling that weighed all of 20 grammes when it was handed over to SEA Aquarium on Sep 28, 2015.

Aquarists and the animal health team “spared no effort” in caring for the two young turtles, SEA Aquarium said. These include feeding the turtles species-specific diets, monitoring their growth, measuring their body weights monthly and observing their behaviour with other fish. 

Both turtles were gradually moved from separate, smaller homes to larger habitats where they could be slowly introduced to other species.

Louie has grown to almost 12 kilogrammes – still a fraction of the 200 kilogrammes that green sea turtles can grow to.

Hawke now tips the scales at a healthy 17 kilogrammes. Hawksbill turtles can weigh as much as 70 kilogrammes, the aquarium said.

The two turtles are now housed at the aquarium’s Shipwreck Habitat, with species such as the pompano, threadfin trevally and shark ray, which are deemed compatible with the turtles. This provides inter-species interaction which is not only good for the animals, but allows visitors to witness the dynamics of marine life, the aquarium said.

The aquarium added that it is open to exploring the possibility of releasing the turtles in the future, in partnership with the authorities, but added that this “requires careful consideration, taking into account key concerns including the suitability of wild habitats and poaching, which must be thoroughly addressed to ensure their survival in the wild”.

SINGAPORE: The “loud noise” heard at Sentosa Cove on Monday evening was caused by a demolition exercise at the nearby Southern Islands, police said on Tuesday (May 23).

Police on Monday said they were at Sentosa Cove investigating reports of a “loud sound” heard at 6:40pm that evening. 

In a Facebook update at 2:26am on Tuesday, the police said their checks had yielded “nothing incriminating” and appealed for more information on the incident.

In a subsequent post, police said their investigations showed that the loud sound was due to a demolition exercise at the Southern Islands on Monday that took place from 11.32am to 5.58pm.

Sentosa Cove is at the southern tip of Sentosa, facing a group of islets that includes Kusu Island, Lazarus Island, St John’s Island, and Sisters’ Islands.

The authorities added that the exercise was part of a series of tests that are being conducted from May 15 to 27.