Crane topples in CBD site; no one injured

SINGAPORE - A crane toppled over at a worksite in the Central Business District on Tuesday evening.

No one was injured in the incident, to which the police and Singapore Civil Defence Force were alerted a little after 7pm.

A worker is believed to have been operating the mobile crane when it toppled on its side.

The site, located between Robinson Road and Cecil Street in Tanjong Pagar, is where property developer Far East Organisation is developing the 31-storey SBF Center, which will comprise offices, medical suites, and food and beverage outlets. The project is expected to be completed in 2017.

When The Straits Times arrived at the scene at about 8pm, construction activity at the site had stopped, but some workers were still waiting around. They said they had been instructed not to divulge any details about what had happened.

A resident across Cecil Street, Ms Kerry Devlin, said she was watching television in the living room of her 34th floor unit when she heard a loud crash.

"I rushed to the window and saw a guy climbing out of the crane using a ladder. He seemed okay," the 27-year-old engineer said. She added that there were about 20 people gathered around the crane.

Ms Devlin then tweeted a photo of the worksite, which showed the crane precariously perched on the edge of what appeared to be a large hole in the ground.

A Ministry of Manpower spokesman said officers from its Occupational Safety and Health Division responded immediately and were on site to investigate the accident. He added that the occupier, construction firm Woh Hup, has been ordered to stop work at the affected area.

This is the second worksite accident this week.

On Sunday morning, a 23-year-old Indian worker died after he was pinned between a boom lift and a crawler crane at a worksite in Joo Koon Road in Jurong.

There have been at least 13 workplace fatalities since the start of this year, and at least seven construction accidents in January alone.

yeosamjo@sph.com.sg

Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.