Technician dies after getting trapped in lift shaft in North Bridge Road building

SINGAPORE: A 29-year-old lift technician died on Saturday (Feb 27) after getting trapped in the lift shaft of a building in North Bridge Road.

The man was repairing the lift at the time of the incident.

In a response to a CNA query, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said that there had been a fatal workplace incident at 450 North Bridge Road on Saturday.

"A 29-year-old Bangladeshi national was conducting repair work on the top of the lift car when it ascended and trapped him against the lift’s guide rail structure," said the spokesperson.

MOM added that the occupier is Parkland Property Services, and the employer is Decor Engineering.

All lift maintenance works have been ordered to stop at the site.

The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told CNA they received calls for assistance at about 11.30am.

The man was found trapped in between the "narrow gap of the lift carriage and the metal support structure of the lift", said SCDF.

The lift carriage was in between the second and the third floors of the building.

The operation was "highly complex and delicate" and required SCDF's Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) as well as fire station personnel to operate rescue equipment within the confined space of the lift shaft, said SCDF.

Emergency medical personnel from both SCDF and Tan Tock Seng Hospital were on the scene to provide assistance.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene at about 5.30pm.

The case has been classified as unnatural death. Police and MOM investigations are ongoing.

Editor's note: The age of the victim has been amended following updated information from the Ministry of Manpower and Singapore Police Force. The location of the incident has also been clarified following information supplied by MOM.