Debris from the collapse had crashed through the construction hoarding onto Bernam Street, with cordons placed near the debris.- ST READER
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): An Indian worker is missing after part of the Fuji Xerox Towers building in Tanjong Pagar collapsed during demolition works.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), which was alerted to the incident at about 2pm on Thursday (June 15), has deployed 11 emergency vehicles and 70 officers at the site, 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 are part of the search efforts for the missing worker, an SCDF spokesman said.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Building and Construction Authority (BCA), in a joint statement 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 missing worker to stop all works at the site.”
It added that the rest of the building has been assesed 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 missing 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 can 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 every other post 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.
Unlock 30% Savings on Ad-Free Access Now!
