Crane Collapse At National Art Gallery Site
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At least one construction worker has been killed and another three seriously injured after an accident on Monday morning at the worksite for the future National Art Gallery Singapore on Coleman Street.
According to workers, concrete slabs forming the counterbalance weight for one of the tower cranes fell at about 10.50am, partially crushing scaffolding within the worksite. The site's main contractor is Takenaka.
The injured workers have been taken to hospital. The Singapore Civil Defence Force was at the scene to determine if there are other fatalities or injuries.
One worker Sen Thil, 36, said that the crane had been lifting an excavator at the time and may have become overloaded. A spokesman for The National Art Gallery Singapore's said that investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the accident. Work at the site has been halted, and workers told to return to their dormitories.
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Snapped wires may have led to Monday's National Art Gallery crane accident which killed two workers, said Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin.
Calling it a "serious incident" after a visit to the construction site along St Andrew's Road yesterday, he added that it was still too early to say what actually happened.
It appears that there had been "nothing unusual" with the operation of the crane, and the weight of the excavator it had been lifting was well within limits.
"So the next step really is to determine what exactly happened - is it technical in nature, is it a systemic problem - so that lessons can be learnt, rectifications can be made," explained Mr Tan. "Not just here, but whether there are lessons for the industry as well."