Foreign worker dies after fall at worksite

Four construction workers fell from a temporary working platform below the Yio Chu Kang flyover yesterday.
Four construction workers fell from a temporary working platform below the Yio Chu Kang flyover yesterday. ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG

A 24-year-old from India died yesterday after he fell from a 6m-high temporary working platform below the Yio Chu Kang flyover. The unnamed construction worker was pronounced dead on the spot by paramedics at about 11am.

Three other workers who also fell were taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in serious condition. Two of the men, aged 30 and 34, are also from India, while the third, aged 25, is from Bangladesh.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in a statement that the four were working on a project to widen a flyover near the existing Yio Chu Kang flyover when the platform gave way.

"The structure of the existing flyover is not affected by this incident. LTA is assisting the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) with the investigations," said an LTA spokesman.

Officers from the Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate of MOM went to investigate the accident, which happened at Or Kim Peow Contractors' worksite, said a ministry spokesman. "MOM has instructed the occupier to stop all works on the work platform."

Investigations are ongoing.

Yesterday's worksite death is the second in as many weeks. Last Saturday, Bangladeshi national Ratul Dewan Jamal Dewan, 23, died after he was hit by pieces of concrete during excavation works in Sunview Way, off Pioneer Road.

There were 29 deaths and 5,950 injuries at work in the first half of this year, down from 34 deaths and 6,563 injuries at work for the same period last year.

The construction sector saw the highest number of workplace deaths, with 10 in the first half of the year - seven fewer compared with the same period last year.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 23, 2015, with the headline Foreign worker dies after fall at worksite. Subscribe