According to the Singapore Civil Defence Force, a build-up of gases below the platform caused a pocket explosion. It is investigating how this occurred. -- CHEW SENG KIM/ THE STRAITS TIMES
A FLASH fire broke out at a shipyard in Tuas Crescent on Tuesday, in yet another blow to the local shipyard industry which has seen a rash of accidents in recent months.
One foreign worker was injured in the incident, which happened at a piping workshop at Drydocks World Singapore. He was taken to National University Hospital with minor head injuries. No one else was hurt.
The injured man, believed to be in his 20s, was welding a pipe section on a platform elevated half a metre above the concrete floor when the flash fire broke out. It was put out quickly.
According to the Singapore Civil Defence Force, a build-up of gases below the platform caused a pocket explosion. It is investigating how this occurred.
The 6m-by-6m working platform can hold about five to six workers at any one time. When the explosion occurred, the worker fell and hit his head on the piece of pipe he was working on.
