At least 20 passersby rally together to move fallen tree in MacPherson, manage to clear 1 lane - Mothership

UPDATE on Sep. 21, 3pm: The article has been updated with NParks' statement.

At least 20 passers-by were spotted working together to help move a tree that had fallen onto a road in MacPherson on Sep. 18.

The incident came to light after an Instagram user, @crayoncheryl, posted a video showing several people pushing the tree towards the side of the road, while others cleared smaller branches.

At one point, the group could be heard counting, "One, two, three!" before pushing the tree together.

Speaking to Mothership, the Instagram user said the incident took place at around 6pm on Friday, opposite MacPherson Sheng Hong Child Care Centre.

She said she was walking towards a bus stop when she saw the fallen tree.

Fortunately, no one was injured and no vehicles were damaged, she said.

She later went closer to the scene and saw bus drivers informing other buses behind them that the road was completely blocked.

There were also some cars that began making U-turns to leave the area.

The user said she initially thought the fallen tree would result in a major traffic jam.

"It didn’t occur to me we can actually move it first without authorities, until the first person went in and many others followed."

According to her, about 20 to 30 people eventually worked together to clear the tree.

The group comprised a mix of people, including migrant workers, bus drivers, and bikers.

The group initially tried to break the smaller branches, but this was taking some time, the user said.

Someone then suggested breaking the main branch and pushing the tree instead.

The group eventually managed to move the tree enough to clear one lane of the road.

"Everyone clapped and some of the vehicles honked in celebration too," the user said.

The entire process took less than 15 minutes from the time she arrived at the scene, she added.

After boarding her bus, the user said she called the National Parks Board (NParks) to check if the fallen tree had been reported.

In response, NParks told her that they were aware of the incident and that contractors were on their way, she said.

In response to Mothership's queries, Oh Cheow Sheng, the NParks group director of streetscape, said they were alerted to a snapped branch incident involving a Yellow Flame tree (Peltophorum pterocarpum) along MacPherson Road on Sep. 18.

No injuries or damage were reported, Oh said, adding that the tree was cleared by around 7:15pm.

"We are heartened that members of public, including workers from our migrant community had helped to move the branch to the side to reduce any disruption to traffic."