SCDF has trouble lowering corpse found in tower crane

SCDF has trouble lowering corpse found in tower crane

A man was found dead in the cabin of a tower crane in a construction site at the junction of Queen Street and Middle Road yesterday.

A witness, Ms L.S. Lim, 28, told The New Paper that the first attempt by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) to lower the body from the crane at just after 1pm was hampered by strong winds.

The business executive said she was on her lunch break at Queen Street at 12.45pm when she noticed about 20 people at an open-air carpark staring at the adjacent construction site.

She found out that the police and SCDF were investigating a case of death.

She later saw SCDF officers trying to lower the body on a platform, but the wind made the body sway too much.

Ms Lim said they pulled the platform back up to the crane about 10 minutes later.

"The blue sheets lining the building were swaying. So I knew the wind must have been strong.

"It would have been dangerous if the SCDF officers had kept lowering the body in that manner."

About half an hour later, Ms Lim saw the officers secure additional ropes to the top of the crane before one of them abseiled down with the body in a bag.

SUCCESSFUL

Ms Lim said that she saw the abseiling officer take the body into a floor of the building under construction before they disappeared from view.

An SCDF spokesman said they received a call at 10.30am and sent a fire engine, a Red Rhino, two fire bikes, two support vehicles and one ambulance to the construction site at Middle Road.

The spokesman said a 38-year-old man was found dead inside the crane cabin. Police have classified the death as unnatural and are investigating.

When contacted, the Ministry of Manpower said the death was not due to a workplace accident.


This article was first published on April 18, 2015.
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