Woman taken to hospital after car falls into sinkhole on Tanjong Katong Road

SINGAPORE – A woman was taken to hospital after her car fell into a sinkhole that formed on Tanjong Katong Road, near the One Amber condominium, on July 26.

Members of the public have been advised to avoid the area.

In a Facebook post, national water agency PUB said the sinkhole had formed at about 5pm at the junction of Tanjong Katong Road and Mountbatten Road, and adjacent to a PUB worksite.

The road collapse affected two lanes of the road, and one vehicle had fallen into the sinkhole, PUB added.

Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC MP Goh Pei Ming said that the woman was pulled out of the sinkhole with the help of workers nearby.

She was taken conscious to Raffles Hospital, with a PUB officer assisting her and her family, added Mr Goh, during a media interview together with Mountbatten MP Gho Sze Kee near the sinkhole.

Both directions of the affected road have been closed to traffic, with motorists advised to avoid the area and use alternative routes.

“Two water mains were damaged in the incident,” PUB said, adding that it was isolating the affected water mains.

In a Facebook post, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu acknowledged that the public, especially nearby residents and workers, may be concerned about the structural integrity of the buildings and roads after the incident.

She added that she has asked PUB to work with agencies including the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and Land Transport Authority (LTA) to “investigate the cause of the sinkhole thoroughly, and implement rectification quickly”.

In a statement at about 11pm, BCA said its engineers have done preliminary checks on the nearby One Amber condominium and the landed houses across the road. The assessments confirmed that the buildings are not affected by the incident.

BCA added that “stabilisation works” have started as a precaution and to ensure the safety of nearby buildings and the worksite.

“BCA, LTA and PUB are closely monitoring the ongoing repair works and overall safety of the area,” the authority said.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said in a Facebook post at 7.44pm that it had responded to a road traffic accident in Tanjong Katong Road South at about 5.50pm, and that its resources were still at the scene.

In its Facebook post, LTA said it was notified of the incident at about 6.05pm.

“The incident is under investigation and our contractors are on site to assist with the repair of the roads,” the authority said.

Earlier in the evening, Mr Goh and Ms Gho had alerted their followers about the incident through Facebook posts, with Mr Goh saying that bus services 36 and 48 had been diverted because of the sinkhole.

During the joint media interview later the same evening, Mr Goh and Ms Gho said that scans were being done in the area to make sure that it was stable.

Mr Goh said: “They are making sure that the entire area is safe and secure before further restoration works are put in place, and that will include draining the area, especially the sinkhole, extracting the vehicle from the sinkhole, and doing our best to make sure that the roads can be restored as quickly as possible.”

Ms Gho added that LTA was working “on a road map to explain to the public how the traffic will be diverted”, while PUB would “step in to ensure that there’s minimal disruption” if nearby residents had their water supplies affected by the sinkhole.

Separately, PUB’s Mr Herman Ching told the media just after 10pm that the injured driver has shoulder pain but is able to walk, and is undergoing check-ups at the hospital.

The sinkhole is about 3m deep, and will be drained and filled up once the agency has determined that the area is stable, said Mr Ching, director of the water reclamation (network) department.

He added that there is no major disruption to the water supply in the surrounding areas, though some households could experience low water pressure.

However, he said PUB is making alternative arrangements to back up the water supply.

Images and videos circulating on social media show a large hole on one side of the road. In some visuals, a dark-coloured car is seen partially submerged in gushing water in the hole.

A construction site is also seen nearby.

“I think safety should be a priority and the relevant authorities should ensure that the road is safe for travelling before they open (it) up,” said Mr Shakti Desai, who lives nearby.

He added that he saw water suddenly gush out from the road and construction workers rushing to the scene.

“It’s shocking (that) something like this has happened in Singapore, but I’m sure that the authorities will do their utmost to ensure that it is perfectly safe before anything happens,” the 42-year-old businessman told The Straits Times.

A couple in their 60s, who identified themselves only as Mr and Mrs Lee, said that they were driving back to their condominium in Mountbatten Road when they saw the flooded road.

“I thought a water pipe burst,” Mr Lee told ST.

They added that sewage works have been ongoing in the area for months.

In a notice pasted on the construction hoarding near the sinkhole, the PUB said it is carrying out sewer laying works in the Amber Gardens and Amber Road areas from the first quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2026.

At about 8.45pm, ST observed workers pumping water out, and a crane dredging the contents out of the sinkhole and onto a tipper truck.