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Crane topples near City Hall MRT station

[UPDATED at 1.45 pm: adding statement from National Art Gallery]

A crawler crane operating at the barricaded section of a construction site of the National Art Gallery tilted, causing the crane jib to land onto Coleman Street.

The incident occurred at approximately 9 on Thursday morning, triggering alarm from passers-by.

No injuries or damages to vehicles in the vicinity were reported, however, and according to a worker from a neighbouring construction site, the driver of the crane, which was used for drilling into the ground, jumped out of the controlling cabin as it was falling.

Workers knocking off from their night shift also told reporters on the scene that it could have been "too much excavation" that resulted in the crane toppling.

However, according to a statement from the National Art Gallery, the crane was not in operation at the time.

Supervisors from Takenaka - Singapore Piling Joint Venture had observed that the crane started to dip early this morning and took action immediately to close off Coleman Street.

When the jib snapped and landed on the road, no workers or vehicles were affected. While traffic was temporarily diverted and later restored just before noon, there were no apparent damage to the former Supreme Court and City Hall buildings where the construction work were being carried out.

Investigations are still on-going to determine the cause of the incident.



Additional reporting by Nicholas Teo

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