Nine worksite fatalities were recorded in the first month of 2014, reported the Straits Times (ST, 30 Jan 2014, Structure collapse kills one, injures 10 workers in Sentosa, by Yeo Sam Jo). The latest victim was a 36-year-old Chinese national working on a project on Sentosa. Ten others were injured Wednesday 29 January when the formwork structure on which they were standing collapsed. The formwork structure was supporting a mould for a beam that was being built at Family Entertainment Centre close to Palawan Beach. The structure collapsed as the concrete was being poured into the mould.
Collapsed formwork structure at Sentosa. Pic from Straits Times
Just one day before, a construction worker fell four floors to his death when a structure that he was standing on collapsed at a worksite along Eunos Road. A co-worker suffered leg injuries, while two others escaped. Both the deceased and the injured worker were from Bangladesh. (Straits Times, 29 January 2014, Worker falls to death in latest construction fatality, by Carolyn Khew)
The accident occurred at 1:34am, Tuesday, 28 January. A Chinese worker told the Straits Times that concreting work was in progress when the collapse occurred. Confirming this, a spokesman for construction company Low Keng Huat said “The group was working on the structure supporting the concreting work, located at the fourth storey of the building, when the structure collapsed.”
The previous week, on Thursday, 23 January 2014, a Chinese national fell 19 floors to his death at a worksite in Sengkang. Liu Debao, 41, was hit by a prefabricated bathroom when the module was being lifted by a crane to the 19th floor of the uncompleted building, reported the Straits Times (ST, 25 Jan 2014, Worker hit by prefab unit falls to death, by Yeo Sam Jo).
The prefabricated bathroom that hit Liu Debao still hanging by the crane. Pic from Straits Times
There is speculation that strong winds might have played a role.
Liu had been working in Singapore for five years. He originally came from Shandong and reportedly leaves behind his wife, teenage son and elderly mother.
A site supervisor told the media that Liu had been wearing a safety harness; it remains unknown why he still fell.
Just a day before the Sengkang accident, two Bangaldeshis lost their lives, also from falls. The 22 January accident occurred at a construction site along Fusionopolis Way. Preliminary findings show that they fell from the 7th floor of a building under construction. (Today, 22 Jan 2014, Two workers fall to death at construction site).
The New Paper (25 Jan 2014) said that they fell after their air compressor harnesses snapped. So far, their names have not been released.