A 37-year-old Bangladeshi worker died in an accident at a construction site in Sengkang yesterday morning, the second reported fatal accident at the site this year.
He was caught between metal barricades and the counterweight of a crawler crane when the machine rotated, said a Ministry of Manpower (MOM) spokesman.
The Housing Board is the site developer, while the contractor is Ken-Pal. The man, employed by construction firm He Zhan, was taken unconscious to Sengkang General Hospital, where he later died, said police. They were alerted to the accident at 339 Anchorvale Road at about 9am.
MOM said that it has instructed Ken-Pal to stop all lifting operations at the work site. When contacted, Ken-Pal declined to comment as the matter is under investigation by MOM and the police.
This is the second reported industrial accident at the Sengkang construction site this year.
In March, a 36-year-old Indian national was killed after he was struck by a sheet pile. Ken-Pal was the occupier of the work site, while the worker was employed by Harris Construction.
Ken-Pal was placed under the Business Under Surveillance programme, which helps poor-performing companies improve their workplace safety and health, in March after the first accident.
Earlier this month, a construction crane collapsed at the work site of an upcoming rehabilitation hub in Novena, killing an Indian construction worker, 28, and injuring a Bangladeshi, 35.
The accident yesterday comes even as the number of workplace deaths fell to a seven-year low, according to half-year workplace safety statistics released by MOM and the Workplace Safety and Health Council in September.
Seventeen workers died on the job from January to June, down from 18 in the same period last year and 23 in the second half.
This was the lowest absolute number of workplace fatalities since 2012, when fatality data for all workplaces was tracked, MOM and the council had said.
Six of the 17 deaths occurred at construction sites.
Although figures are improving, Mr Ethan Guo, general manager of migrant worker advocacy group Transient Workers Count Too, said "even one accident is one too many". "Companies have to recognise that safety is important and place it as a priority at every stage," he added.
