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SINGAPORE: An airforce regular serviceman died in hospital, one-and-a-half hours after he collapsed while he was undergoing jungle orientation training in Brunei on Wednesday.
20-year-old Officer Cadet (OCT) Clifton Lam Jia Hao, a pilot trainee with the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), had apparently collapsed during the final leg of the training.
Together with five course mates, OCT Clifton had set off on a 4-kilometre trek in the forest at 8.45am.
They were in camouflage gear and equipped with rifles, dry ration and water.
At 5.45pm - just a few hundred metres away from the finish point - OCT Clifton collapsed.
One of his team members tried to resuscitate him. A medic and doctor also rushed over from the checkpoint to give immediate first aid.
Channel NewsAsia understands this included cooling him down for heat exhaustion.
Later, at about 6.30pm, OCT Clifton was evacuated by helicopter to Ripas Hospital, about 10 minutes away.
En route to the hospital, the medical personnel onboard the helicopter continued to attend to him.
Lam was pronounced dead at the hospital at 7.20pm.
The area where the officers were training in is known to have uneven ground, dense forest, tall trees and canopy so thick that those on the ground would not be able to see the sky when they look up. The weather condition during the incident was reported to be hot and humid.
OCT Clifton was a hospitality student from the Temasek Polytechnic. Condolences started to pour in on his social networking website. His friends and former schoolmates said Clifton will be dearly missed. They remember him as a caring friend and a great teammate. One even called him a brother.
Clifton's two former lecturers from Temasek Polytechnic, Grace Chia and Ivy Tan, also remember him fondly. They said "Clifton was a cheerful boy who never failed to brighten the class with his humour and was well liked by his peers. A dedicated boy who took pride in whatever he did."
Clifton's body is still in Brunei and is expected to be brought back to Singapore soon. Channel NewsAsia understands his family is now in Brunei.
Investigations are underway and it is not known if OCT Clifton had any prior medical conditions.
OCT Clifton was certified PES A, the highest fitness status in the SAF. He was given a clean bill of health during his Fitness for Instruction assessment on 14 May. This assessment is required before officers take on the jungle training course. - CNA/ir
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