Hotel guests evacuated after shophouses partially collapse along Syed Alwi Road

SINGAPORE: Two hotels in Little India had to evacuate their guests in the early hours of Tuesday (Oct 8) following the partial collapse of two shophouses on Syed Alwi Road.

A third hotel reported damage.

The partial collapse of the two-storey shophouse units at 84 and 85 Syed Alwi Road, which injured six people, is believed to have been caused by a gas explosion.

It occurred at about 1.30am, with witnesses reportedly hearing a loud explosion.

The Royal India Hotel, which is located three shophouses away from the affected site, told CNA that around 60 of its guests had to be evacuated at about 1am and were only allowed to return to their rooms at 5am.

The hotel's front desk receptionist Sarah Saraswathy said that they had to transfer one of their guests to another hotel as she was pregnant.

It was a similar case for the Arianna Hotel, which is located just next door to 84 Syed Alwi Road.

Mr Wong Pek Onn, the hotel's front desk receptionist, told CNA that their checkout time had been pushed back from 12pm to 2pm in light of the incident. This would give their guests more time to rest, he said.

No visible damage was seen on either hotel, but Mr Wong said that Singapore Civil Defence Force personnel were inspecting his hotel. Both receptionists said that business continued as usual on Tuesday.

The Philip Hotel, which is located at 75 Desker Road, directly behind 84 Syed Alwi Road, told CNA that the windows in one of its rooms had been damaged by the suspected gas explosion.

According to one of the hotel's staff members, the room was not occupied when it occurred.

When CNA visited the hotel, a window along a corridor was also broken.

The Building and Construction Authority said in a Facebook post that buildings adjacent to the two shophouses were not affected by the incident and were safe.

A vegetarian restaurant named Paakashala Singapore is located at 84 Syed Alwi Road, while No 85 houses Nirja Mega Mart.

Paakaahala sustained significant damage, with wires seen hanging from the ceiling and its outdoor tent bent out of shape.

According to its Instagram page, the Indian vegetarian restaurant opened in December last year.

"NOISE WAS SO LOUD"

One worker at nearby Sakunthala's – who only wanted to be known as Mr Jayarama – said he saw a large crowd forming after a loud noise was heard on Tuesday morning.

"People came out to see what had happened because the noise was so loud, but when I looked, I couldn't see anything. I don't know what happened," he said.

Madam Yeow Noy Kee, who lives at a nearby HDB block said: "I got a shock, I thought it might have been an explosion but I couldn't see anything."

"There was no fire or anything," the 74-year-old added.

Facebook user Qristal Adrianna was livestreaming on the platform when the incident occurred.

In the video, shattered glass can be seen on the road while sirens are heard in the background. Many bystanders can be seen standing around the affected shophouse units. 

A person is also heard saying that an explosion happened near Mustafa Centre.