24-year-old worker killed in industrial accident in Tampines

Workers gathered near the body of their colleague, who suffered fatal injuries after the wire meshes he was helping to unload fell and struck him. PHOTO: MANO ELANGOVAN/FACEBOOK

SINGAPORE - A 24-year-old man was killed in an industrial accident at 4 Tampines Industrial Street 62 on Tuesday (April 26).

In response to queries, a Ministry of Manpower (MOM) spokesman said the accident took place at the worksite of Sunway Concrete Products (S) Pte Ltd, which manufactures precast concrete products such as columns and lift shafts.

"Officers from MOM's Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate responded to the scene immediately and commenced investigations," the spokesman added.

Preliminary findings indicated that the worker had been helping to unload wire meshes from a lorry loader. He suffered fatal injuries after being struck by the wire meshes, which fell as they were being lifted.

The ministry said it has instructed the occupier to stop all lifting activities on the worksite, and that investigations are ongoing.

A spokesman for Sunway Concrete Products told The Straits Times that the worker was not under its employ.

The police said it received a call requesting assistance at about 10.58am on Tuesday. The victim was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.

A post by Facebook user Mano Elangovan, which has garnered over 4,000 shares since Tuesday afternoon, showed a picture of a man lying on the ground while other construction workers stood nearby.

Mr Mano wrote that the victim hailed from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Earlier this month, Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say stressed that existing safety efforts are "not good enough". His comments were in the wake of 26 workplace deaths in less than four months this year.

In a previous fatal accident on April 16, a 36-year-old truck driver from India died when his parked vehicle rolled into him, crushing him against a wall at 56, Loyang Way, around 5am.

Additional reporting by Olivia Ho

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