Skip to main content
Best News Website or Mobile Service
WAN-IFRA Digital Media Awards Worldwide 2022
Best News Website or Mobile Service
Digital Media Awards Worldwide 2022
Hamburger Menu

Advertisement

Advertisement

Singapore

3 more fatal workplace accidents in June; worker deaths in 2021 at 22

3 more fatal workplace accidents in June; worker deaths in 2021 at 22

A worker fell 40m to his death while working on a stairwell formwork in a warehouse under construction in Tuas on Jun 10, 2021. (Photo: Workplace Safety & Health Council)

SINGAPORE: Three workers died in separate accidents within five days in June, with one falling to his death, another worker drowning and one worker crushed by goods that toppled from a forklift.

This takes the total number of fatal workplace accidents in 2021 to 22, which is higher than the 17 workplace fatalities recorded in the first half of 2020.

There were 17 worker deaths in the same time period in 2019 and 18 in 2018.

The deaths came in the wake of another fatal workplace incident earlier this month, when an SMRT technician died after being pinned under a bus he was repairing at Ang Mo Kio depot.

READ: SMRT technician dies, another injured after being pinned under bus they were repairing

The three latest fatal workplace accidents happened between Jun 10 and Jun 14, and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said it is investigating all three incidents. 

In the first accident on Jun 10, a Bangladeshi worker was working on the erection of a stairwell formwork in a warehouse under construction in Tuas when he fell.

He was crossing the structure used to bridge the gap between the stairwell’s walls when it gave way, causing him to fall from 40m.

The 25-year-old Bangladeshi was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, said MOM.

READ: Supervisor, worker die after collapsing in vessel's ballast tank

A Workplace Safety & Health (WSH) alert from Jun 17 said that the worker was wearing a full-body harness but without a lanyard attached. 

Fall from heights have typically been one of the main causes of fatal workplace accidents.
 
The occupier is HPC Builders, and the employer is BHD Construction. MOM has instructed the occupier, HPC Builders, to stop all formwork erection activities in stairwells.

The second accident took place at a fishery at Lim Chu Kang Lane on Jun 11.
 
A 36-year-old Myanmar worker was pulling a net while wading across a fish pond at Royal Crown Fishery & Trading when he started to struggle in the water. 

READ: Tuas explosion: 3 workers die from injuries, 5 in critical condition

He was pulled out of the pond by his co-workers and taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, where he died.
 
MOM has instructed the fishery to stop all fish harvesting.

In a third accident at Tanjong Penjuru on Jun 14, a 31-year-old Singaporean worker was crushed while unloading palletised goods from containers in a warehouse using a forklift.

READ: Workplace safety: How MOM inspectors help firms to fix the gaps

He dismounted from the forklift, and was standing next to the goods when they toppled and pinned him to the floor, said MOM. The unconscious worker was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. 

The worker was employed by Bok Seng Logistics, who has been instructed by MOM to stop all forklift operation in the premises, which are occupied by Compass Rose Freights Systems.

Source: CNA/hm(rw)

Advertisement

Also worth reading

Advertisement