2 dead, 4 injured in tower crane collapse along Supreme Court Lane
[UPDATE at 9:15pm - updating number of injured workers, adding statement from NAG]
Two people are dead and four others injured after a tower crane at a construction site along Supreme Court Lane collapsed on Monday morning.
The accident happened at the construction site of the future National Art Gallery (NAG), just two months after another incident occurred at the same place.
According to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), two workers were pronounced dead at the scene, whom the NAG said were Thai and Bangladeshi in nationality.
Another four -- two Bangladeshis and two Chinese nationals -- suffered injuries and were conveyed to the Singapore General Hospital, said the SCDF, adding that the injured workers were “conscious” on the way there.
The families of the deceased workers are "in the process of being informed", said the government board.
Preliminary findings showed that the boom of the tower crane collapsed while it was lifting an excavator, said the NAG in a statement on Monday evening.
The company working on the construction site, Takenaka-Singapore Piling Joint Venture, was instructed by Singapore's manpower ministry to stop all work there as investigations go on.
Takenaka also said it has taken measures to secure the site to ensure that the buildings "pose no further danger to workers and members of the public". They have also started a review into operational procedures and processes on site, added the NAG in its statement.
"The Gallery, and the occupier... are doing what we can to provide assistance to the families during this difficult time," said NAG director Eugene Tan. "The Safety of the workers on site is of paramount importance to us, and we will work with our contractors to ensure this."
Around two months ago, the jib of a crawler crane snapped and landed at the same construction site.
No injuries or damages to vehicles in the vicinity were reported then.
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