MRT worksite accident: Two dead, 8 injured

SINGAPORE: Two workers from China were killed when scaffolding at the Downtown Line Bugis Station construction site collapsed on Wednesday morning.

The construction site is near Rochor Road/ Victoria Street junction.

Eight other workers, who were working on top of the structure, were injured and were sent to nearby Raffles Hospital before rescuers arrived.

They had minor injuries and five of them have since been discharged. Of the remaining three workers who were warded, one suffered from abdominal and chest injuries, while another suffered a back injury and the last had a finger injury.

Seven of the injured are from Bangladesh while the eighth is from China.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has ordered all construction work to stop, while the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has revoked the construction permit for the site while investigations are underway.

MOM said that based on preliminary information gathered, workers were pouring concrete, also known as the casting process, into the formwork when the structure supporting the formwork collapsed.

The formwork, located between the new and old sections of Bugis MRT Station, was part of the structure being built to form the underground linkway, which is about three to four metres deep.

The project is a joint venture between Soletanche-Bachy and Koh Brothers.

The scaffolding structure was about four metres high, and the area affected -- measuring about five metres by 10 metres -- was localised. The entire DTL Bugis station is about 7,500 square metres.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said the incident happened at about 6.50am.

Officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) rushed to the scene, kicking off a nine-hour search for two missing workers.

LTA engineers and personnel were at the site to assist the SCDF and the police to manage the situation.

The SCDF located the body of the first worker at 10.40am, but took an hour to retrieve it.

It was submerged in wet cement and pressed down by wooden planks in the work area, which was 15 metres deep.

SCDF said the recovery operation was a "race against time" as it had to retrieve the body before the wet cement hardened.

Its personnel pumped in water to ensure that the cement stayed wet, and cut through planks and scaffolding to reach the body.

The body of the second missing worker was found at 12.45pm and recovered more than three hours later.

LTA said the DTL Bugis station structure was substantially complete and structurally sound, and that the incident posed no risk to surrounding developments and the public.

LTA's senior group director of rail operations, Sim Wee Meng, said: "The structure of this station is very safe. We've got many worksites for the Downtown Line project. As a precaution, we are asking all our engineers to check them to ensure that they are safe."

Visiting the accident site, Minister of State for Manpower, Tan Chuan-Jin said the priority now is to make sure the injured workers are well looked after.

He said the other priority is to stabilise the situation and keep the environment safe.

Mr Tan said the incident is also not on the same scale as the 2004 Nicoll Highway incident, where a retaining wall at the Circle Line MRT worksite gave way, claiming four lives.

"It's a serious accident but it is localised where the formwork gave way when they were constructing the roof slab. This is not a complex construction work. What we've done essentially is to revoke the work permit for the localised work in this area. The rest of the site remains safe," said Mr Tan.

"The public buildings in this area, the public infrastructure, there are no safety concerns," he added.

Mr Tan added the ministry will conduct detailed investigations to find out the cause of the incident and to ensure such an accident does not occur again.

Separately Minister of State for Transport Josephine Teo said a thorough investigation into the accident has to be conducted to see how such a situation can be prevented.

Mrs Teo also assured the public that Wednesday's incident has not affected the other MRT lines.

"A completed MRT line and the one that is under construction, are two different things. What the commuters today are using, in terms of rail services, are well-established lines. The system's safety is not in question," she said.

Nine SCDF (DART) personnel were also sent to Singapore General Hospital for medical attention after the rescue operations were over.

They sustained chemical burns on their lower arms due to prolonged exposure to the wet concrete. They were discharged on Wednesday evening.

- CNA/cc