1 dead, 1 injured in crane collapse at Novena construction site of new TTSH rehab hub

SINGAPORE - A worker died after a construction crane collapsed at a worksite in Novena on Monday (Nov 4).

Another injured worker was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH).

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it received a call for help at a construction site in Jalan Tan Tock Seng at about 8.50am.

"A boom of a tower crane had collapsed at the construction site and a man was pronounced dead at the scene by an SCDF paramedic," the SCDF said.

"Another worker was taken to TTSH after the incident."

The police said that a 28-year-old worker was found lying motionless and subsequently pronounced dead, and a 35-year-old worker was conscious when he was taken to hospital.

Workers at the site told The Straits Times that the dead man was an Indian national, and the injured worker, a Bangladeshi, was hurt in his leg.

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They said the crane was carrying around 300kg of scaffolding material when it collapsed on both men, who were on the ground.

“For construction (crane), 300kg is considered very light,” said a worker who declined to be named, adding that the cranes can lift materials weighing tonnes.

The Indian national was found to be unresponsive and the Bangladeshi suffered leg fractures.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said that the man who died was employed by LKT Contractors and the injured worker's employer is BHCC Construction. 

A resident whose apartment faces the construction site said she heard a loud boom in the area at about 8.40am. The 33-year-old consultant, who wishes to be known as Ms Goh, said she saw a crane operator stuck on top of the partially collapsed crane at the construction site.

A new 17-storey 500-bed rehabilitation complex, which is part of TTSH, is being built by the Ministry of Health (MOH) at the worksite. Construction started in March 2017 and is scheduled to be completed by 2022.

Ms Goh said that she saw SCDF ambulances and personnel at the scene.

The worker stuck at the top of the broken crane was able to climb down from the crane after 20 minutes, she added.

When contacted, Crane World Asia confirmed that its crane has collapsed at the worksite and that it is looking into the incident.

A spokesman for main contractor Kajima said that cause of the collapse is under investigation and the project team is looking into helping the families of the workers and claiming insurance for them.

The Straits Times has contacted MOM and MOH for more information.

The police are investigating the incident.

Seventeen workers died on the job from January to June this year, down from 18 in the same period last year and 23 in the second half, MOM and the Workplace Safety and Health Council said in September.

Six of the 17 deaths took place at construction sites.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.