SINGAPORE, May 24 — A six-year-old boy who was trapped under an SMRT bus along Choa Chu Kang Avenue 5 this morning has died, the police said.

Responding to media queries, the police said they were alerted to an accident involving a bus and a pedestrian along Choa Chu Kang Avenue 5, towards Choa Chu Kang Avenue 4, at 9.05am.

The pedestrian, a 6-year-old boy, sustained serious injuries and was taken unconscious to the National University Hospital (NUH), where he subsequently succumbed to his injuries, said the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

The SCDF, which was notified about a road traffic accident at about 9.07am, had sent rescuers to the scene, who used lifting equipment to rescue the boy.

TODAY understands the Indian boy, who was on foot when the accident occurred, was trapped under the rear right wheel of the bus. Rescuers took 10 minutes to extract him from under the bus.

The police said the 57-year-old bus driver is assisting with investigations.

Patrick Lee, who lives at Block 487A, near where the accident occurred, said he was woken by a woman shouting and screaming. A neighbour told him later that the boy had been riding a scooter across the road when he was struck by the bus.

"It's very sad, I don't know what happened ...the woman could have been the mother, or the maid, or a family member. The whole block could hear her shouts," he told TODAY.

Another witness, Charlie Lee, 44, an immigration consultant, told TODAY that when he arrived at the scene around 9.25am, the injured boy was being extracted from below the bus and taken to the ambulance.

The boy's mother, whom Lim guessed is an expat Indian, was standing next to the bus in a state of shock, being comforted by the police and a group of people.

SMRT vice-president for corporate communications Margaret Teo said in a statement that the company's care team has reached out to the boy's family at NUH to provide support and assistance. SMRT is also assisting the police in investigations, and apologised to affected commuters.

"We are sorry and sad that the accident has happened," she added.

Lim, who lives nearby at Block 485B, told TODAY when he passed by the scene of the accident a second time at 1pm, there were many police officers and some officers in yellow tops catching users of mobility devices.

The police urged the public not to circulate images or videos of the boy at the scene out of respect for his family. — TODAY