Tanjong Pagar structure collapse: Worker found dead, MOM and BCA order all work to stop

SINGAPORE - An Indian worker was found dead under the rubble after part of the Fuji Xerox Towers building in Tanjong Pagar collapsed during demolition works.

Rescue workers found the body late on Thursday night after more than six hours of search and rescue operations. It was trapped about 2m under the debris.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a statement: "Following an intensive search operation, a worker who was earlier reported missing was sighted to be pinned under the collapsed reinforced concrete structure at about 6pm. The worker had no pulse and was not breathing."

Rescue workers had to cut, break and dig through the rubble, but the weight of the concrete slab, estimated to be about 50 tonnes or more, complicated efforts. The body of the worker, who is from India, was recovered at about 9.45pm.

SCDF officers arrived at the site earlier in the day, after being alerted to the incident at about 2pm. Eleven emergency vehicles and 70 officers were deployed to find the worker, including firefighters, rescue workers and emergency medical workers.

SCDF officers from Marina Bay Fire Station, rescue specialists from the elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team or Dart, and two search dogs were part of the search efforts, an SCDF spokesman said.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Building and Construction Authority (BCA), in a joint statement earlier on Thursday night, said a reinforced concrete wall on the second storey - measuring about 10m long and 3.8m high - collapsed onto the street during demolition.

The statement said: "BCA has instructed the project parties to stop all construction activities, and will revoke the permit for all works while investigations are ongoing. MOM has also instructed the employer of the worker to stop all works at the site."

It added that the rest of the building has been assessed to be stable and there are no concerns over its structural integrity.

Demolition works must also be planned properly for structures to be demolished systematically, the statement said. This includes having in place a demolition plan that details the sequence of events as well as demolishing from the top-down to reduce the chances of large structures collapsing.

The occupier of the worksite is Woh Hup, while the employer of the worker is Aik Sun Demolition and Engineering, the statement added.

In photos sent to The Straits Times by a reader, debris resulting from the collapse can be seen on Bernam Street, off Anson Road. The area also appeared to have been cordoned off.

An SCDF Mass Decontamination Vehicle was also be seen near the work site. The vehicle is usually deployed when there is a large-scale hazardous material accident and used to decontaminate a large number of victims. It is also used to transport people who need medical attention, and move equipment, said an SCDF post on Facebook.

When contacted, a representative from Aik Sun - the firm carrying out the demolition works - said it needed time to find out what caused the collapse.

Aik Sun, in a Facebook post, said structural demolition of Fuji Xerox Towers began in February 2022. The Facebook post, along with all other content on the firm's page, has since been taken down.

Office workers in the area said they felt tremors when the building structure collapsed.

A 58-year-old man, who wanted to be known only as Mr Lim, said he was in a meeting with three colleagues when they all felt the ground shake. Their office building at 78 Shenton Way is a three-minute walk from the site.

He said: "It wasn't prolonged enough for us to panic but at the start, it felt like an earthquake. We didn't know what happened until we went outside to smoke and saw the site."

Another eyewitness, who wanted to be known only as Ms Nisha, said she knew something was wrong when she saw police cars in the area. The 29-year-old works at Napolizz Pizza, across the street from Fuji Xerox Towers.

She said: "We didn't feel any tremors because we're on the ground floor, but the tenants above us were saying they could hear a loud bang and felt shakes.

"We saw two police cars arriving shortly to block the road, and officers running towards the construction site. That's when we figured out something was wrong."

She added that the air was filled with dust and smoke.

At about 5.25pm, police cordons were put up in the vicinity of the area. An overhead bridge that led to the demolition site was also blocked off.

Additional reporting by Yugesh Kannan

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