Eyewitnesses that Fathership spoke to recounted how a white BMW was speeding before the driver lost control and slamming into a vacant shophouse resulting in five people killed.

The incident happened around 5.20am along Tanjong Pagar Road this morning (13 Feb).

According to a resident in the area, the roar of car engines was heard 10 minutes before a loud crash.

By 5.45am, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was at the scene.

Next-of-kin of the occupants of the car arrive between 10am to 10.30am to identify the bodies of the five killed before the bodies were taken away to the mortuary.

They were heard wailing from about 30m away, across the road from the site of the crash.

Sole survivor tried to save her fiance

Mr Akira Chan, 21, a friend of the victims, told The Straits Times one of the victims ran a popular Korean eatery in the area.

"The fiancée of one of my friends in the car tried to open the door to save him and was burned as a result."

The victim suffered 80 per cent burns to her body and is being treated at the SGH burns unit.