Gas explosion in Syed Alwi Road leads to collapse of two shophouses, 6 injured

SINGAPORE - Six people were injured after two shophouse units partially collapsed in Little India following a gas explosion in the early hours of Oct 8.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook post that it was alerted to the incident at 84 and 85 Syed Alwi Road, which is near Mustafa Centre, at about 1.30am.

The former location houses Paakashala Singapore, a vegetarian Indian restaurant, while the latter, Nirja Mega Mart.

In an update, the SCDF said preliminary investigations indicated that a likely build-up of flammable gas within the restaurant led to the blast and partial collapse of both structures.

The SCDF said no flammable gas readings were detected on-site.

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said in a Facebook post at around 9.30am that it had been alerted to a suspected gas-explosion incident.

The authority said its engineers assessed the structural integrity of the shophouse units and the adjacent buildings.

BCA added: “The rear parts of the two shophouse units have partially collapsed. The front facade and staircase of unit 84 were also damaged by the explosion.

“The other adjacent buildings were not affected by the explosion and are safe.”

BCA issued the owners of the shophouse units two orders – Dangerous Building and Closure – and told them to put in place immediate safety measures to cordon off the two units to prevent public access.

It said the owners must appoint a professional engineer to investigate the incident and recommend permanent rectification measures to be carried out.

The SCDF said in the afternoon that its resources had returned to their respective fire stations.

The incident site has been handed over to BCA to work with the owners of both shophouses and their appointed professional engineers.

When The Straits Times arrived at about 9am, a cordon had been put up, covering the adjacent units and the alleyway behind them.

Ms Denise Phua, who is Mayor of Central Singapore District and MP for Jalan Besar GRC, was at the scene to survey the damage.

She said her key concern was to ensure those injured were taken care of, and that Central CDC will look into the incident.

Ms Phua added that two passengers in Grab vehicles were also affected.

She said: “They were not injured, but mildly affected. I think they are okay now. They didn’t want any medical assistance.”

A tourist from China who wanted to be known only as Mr Lee, 40, said he was having a drink in his room at L Hotel at 51 Desker Road, situated in the lane behind the affected units, when he heard a crash at around 1am.

He said in Mandarin: “It was so loud, I felt the floorboards shake. I thought it was a bomb or an explosion. I was terrified it might have been a terrorist attack.”

A receptionist at Arianna Hotel, which is located at 83 Syed Alwi Road – two units away from Paakashala – said he was shocked to see the road cordoned off when he arrived for work in the morning.

Said the 52-year-old, who wanted to be known only as Mr Wong: “I’ve never experienced such a thing before.”

The SCDF told him that he might have to evacuate the hotel’s occupants. The hotel’s standard checkout time is 11am, but Mr Wong said he informed a guest that he could check out at 2pm instead because of the incident, as many guests complained that their sleep had been interrupted.

The SCDF said two search dogs and a drone were used to check if anyone was trapped under the debris. Firefighters rescued someone from the second floor of unit 84 using a ladder, as a blocked staircase prevented that person’s escape.

The SCDF added that as some passers-by had heard a loud blast, a firefighting machine was used to disperse any potential build-up of flammable gases with its water mist spray.

No one was trapped under the debris.

Two people suffered minor injuries and were taken to Singapore General Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital, while four others who sustained minor injuries declined to be taken to hospital.

Netizen Qristal Adrianna was live-streaming on Facebook at about 1.20am when the incident happened. In the video, a woman can be heard saying that an explosion has happened at a restaurant next to Mustafa Centre, as ambulance sirens blare in the background. Part of the one-lane road next to the units is blocked by a crowd of onlookers.

Philip Hotel, which is in Desker Road behind the scene of the incident, had one of its glass windows shattered.

Bangladeshi business owner Abdul Gaffar Mahamud said he, his wife and daughter were asked to evacuate the hotel and move to the end of the street, about 100m away.

The hotel’s owner helped the family relocate to another hotel under the same company at about 4am. They returned at about 7.30am when they were told it was safe to do so, and saw shattered glass along the corridor.

Mr Gaffar said: “I was very scared. The explosion was very loud, and I initially thought it had happened at the hotel. This is the first time something like this has happened to me.”