Pulau Bukom fire: Three workers discharged, three still in hospital

Shell's manufacturing site on Pulau Bukom. PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE- Three of the six contractor workers injured in a fire in oil giant Shell's manufacturing site on Pulau Bukom were discharged from hospital by Saturday morning, said Shell in a statement.

However there are still three others in hospital. Two of them are in the Intensive Care Unit, while the other is in "stable condition", said a Singapore General Hospital (SGH) spokesman.

"We continue to follow the progress and treatment of the other three workers closely and are working with our contractor to ensure all possible support and assistance are rendered to the injured workers and their families," the Shell spokesman added.

The fire broke out on Friday evening at a section of the manufacturing site that was under scheduled maintenance.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said they received a call at around 6.15pm.

When they arrived, the fire had already been extinguished by Shell's emergency response team.

Shell confirmed that the fire was put out within an hour by the site's first emergency responders and there were no other impact on the site's operations.

The incident response team from the Migrant Workers' Centre (MWC) were also at SGH on Friday to assess the workers' conditions, said MWC Chairman Yeo Guat Kwang

"The MWC would like to remind all employers on their legal obligations to provide safe working conditions for their workers and to ensure that their workers are protected in all circumstances," he added.

Pulau Bukom houses the $4.1 billion Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex, which opened in May 2010. It is Shell's largest petrochemical investment.

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