Dislodged sprinkler pipe behind discharge of brownish water at City Square Mall basement: Management

SINGAPORE – A sprinkler pipe in one of the basement levels of City Square Mall burst in the evening of Sept 3, sending mall patrons scurrying to avoid the dark-coloured water spraying from it.

Videos posted on TikTok showed customers at the fast-food chain KFC, located at basement one of the mall, abandoning their meals to avoid the liquid pooling on the floor. The liquid is also seen flowing into the underpass towards Farrer Park MRT station.

In a media reply, a spokesperson for the mall said it was alerted to the incident at about 7.40pm.

“Within minutes, the operations and security teams began redirecting traffic from the affected area while the cleaning team was activated to begin clearing the affected area,” the spokesperson said.

“Our operations team deployed to the area identified the source to be a dislodged sprinkler pipe, and the related pump was promptly deactivated.”

The spokesperson said the mall’s operations team was working closely with relevant parties to investigate the cause of the burst pipe and carry out repairs.

“Efforts are also under way to reinstate the affected units as quickly as possible to minimise disruption to our tenants’ businesses,” the spokesperson said.

SBS Transit spokeswoman Grace Wu said staff from Farrer Park station assisted passengers while cleaners cleaned and dried up the affected part of the passageway.

“Our train service and station operations were not affected except for an escalator that was shut down as a safety precaution,” she said.

Olympic wrestling coach Ali Parvin, who was dining at the nearby Wingstop outlet, said he heard a loud noise “as if something dropped” and saw people running from the area.

“Within a few minutes, the shopping mall alarm went off,” he said.

“Customers (around me) were confused as some did not know what was happening because they were eating or waiting. But soon, everyone started running and taking away food. I did not get my food but managed to just grab my receipt.”

He later saw water flowing from the burst pipe and noted that there was no smell – only that the water was dark-coloured, the 40-year-old added.

Ms Naseeha Syed Yoosufsha, an 18-year-old polytechnic student, said she heard a siren and an announcement. She initially thought it was a fire alarm as she could not make out what was broadcast.

She then saw water spraying from the area outside the KFC outlet and flowing towards other food establishments.

“Customers near the exit managed to escape quickly, but others nearby were hiding inside shops like Wingstop, (with) some even standing on chairs to avoid the water,” she said, adding that employees from nearby food outlets Bake Inc and Wok Hey rushed to pack up their counters as customers scrambled to leave.

She and her family decided to leave the area before the situation worsened.

The Straits Times has contacted KFC for more information.