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Fatal collapse at Tanjong Pagar building site: Concrete wall fell onto street during demolition

Authorities have ordered all work to stop at a Tanjong Pagar building site where a structure collapsed on Thursday afternoon (Jun 15), resulting in the death of a worker.

In a joint statement, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said a reinforced concrete wall from the second storey of a building collapsed during demolition works.

The concrete wall, measuring about 10m long and 3.8m high, collapsed onto Bernam Street off Anson Road where Fuji Xerox Towers was being demolished.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the incident at 2pm.

A worker, an Indian national, was reported missing. He was later found pinned under the collapsed structure and his body was recovered at about 9.45pm after a nearly four-hour effort to free him.

MOM and BCA said a professional engineer has assessed that the remaining building is “stable” with no structural concerns.

BCA has instructed the parties involved in the project to stop all construction activities, and will revoke the permit for all works while investigations are ongoing.

According to the authorities, the occupier of the worksite is Woh Hup and the employer of the worker is Aik Sun Demolition and Engineering.

MOM has instructed Aik Sun Demolition and Engineering to stop all works at the site.

“As a general safety measure, demolition works must be properly planned for structures to be demolished in a systematic manner,” said BCA and MOM.

This includes establishing a demolition plan detailing the demolition sequences and demolishing from the top down to reduce the possibility of collapse of large structures.

The site where Fuji Xerox Towers once stood is slated to be redeveloped as a mixed-use development called Newport Plaza by City Developments Limited (CDL).

“Workplace safety is of paramount importance and we are cooperating fully with the authorities for a thorough investigation.”

SCDF deployed 11 emergency vehicles and about 70 officers to the scene, including members from the elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART). Two search dogs were also involved in the operation.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/tanjong-pagar-work-site-collapse-fuji-xerox-towers-concrete-wall-demolition-works-mom-bca-3564341