Two hurt after ventilation duct falls from cinema ceiling at Nex mall

A ventilation duct collapsed from the ceiling of a cinema hall at Nex shopping mall yesterday during a movie, injuring two people.

A Shaw Theatres spokesman said the duct in Hall 6 was dislodged at around 4.45pm. Cinema staff tended to the injured customers until paramedics arrived, he said.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said two injured people were taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Details of their injuries were not immediately available.

The cinema, located at the fourth level of Nex, will be closed until further notice, said the Shaw Theatres spokesman, who added that the company is working with landlord Gold Ridge and the authorities to investigate the incident.

The Straits Times understands that all the 10 cinema halls were evacuated, and staff asked customers for their names and contact details to refund their tickets.

A photo on website Mustsharenews showed that the dislodged ventilation duct landed across several rows of seats on the right side of the theatre. In one photo, a customer was seen lying on the floor, while another showed a person strapped to a stretcher.

A Building and Construction Authority (BCA) spokesman said it sent an engineer to investigate the fallen air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation duct at 6.30pm.

BCA has instructed the building owner to appoint a professional engineer to carry out a detailed investigation, inspect and assess the condition of other ducts in the cinema, and recommend rectification measures.

One moviegoer, who wanted to be known only as Ms Vivian, was watching the movie Tenet with her family in another cinema hall when the incident happened.

"The lights suddenly came on for a few minutes, but the movie was still playing, so we thought it was nothing serious. But when the movie suddenly got shut off, some people got a bit angry and things were a little chaotic. Eventually, the staff told us to evacuate," said the 24-year-old bank analyst.

"We are very shocked by the incident, and we probably won't dare to visit that particular cinema (at Nex) in future. I really hope the injured are fine," she added.

When ST arrived at the scene at 7pm, the cinema was half-shuttered. Moviegoers were given complimentary vouchers for other Shaw Theatres cinemas. They have a one-month validity and can be claimed for any movie at any time.

A customer, who wanted to be known only as Ms Sim, had a ticket to watch Tenet at 7.50pm and was given a voucher. "I don't have anything planned for the evening, so I will be looking at other movie timings for Tenet near the area, perhaps at Seletar Mall," she said.

Correction note: The Building and Construction Authority has clarified that its engineer was at the site at 6.30pm.