SINGAPORE – A local site engineer and a Bangladeshi construction worker died on Sept 17 in an accident at a worksite in Lentor Avenue for the upcoming North-South Corridor.
The Bangladeshi worker, 39, was pronounced dead at the scene by a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) paramedic, while the engineer, 38, was unconscious when taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, where he died due to his injuries.
Two other workers, aged 32 and 47, were also taken to the same hospital after the accident, which happened at about 1.20pm. The police and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) are investigating the incident.
Photos of the accident’s aftermath that were circulated on private messaging platforms showed two workers, wearing high-visibility jackets and safety helmets, lying face-down on the ground. A third worker can be seen trying to help one of them up.
According to MOM, the four workers who were hurt in the accident were employed by VSL Singapore, the local subsidiary of Swiss specialist contractor VSL.
The main contractor of the Lentor Avenue work site is Ssangyong Engineering and Construction.
The South Korean firm was awarded a $537.1 million contract by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in 2018 to build a section of the North-South Corridor between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 9 and Sungei Seletar.
The works include constructing 1.3km of road tunnels, a 1.1km section of viaduct, as well as surface roads and an exit ramp.
According to the company’s website, the project, known as N111, was previously recognised in 2021 by the Workplace Safety and Health Council for having good safety and health performance and workplace safety and health management systems.
The Straits Times has contacted the contractor for comment.
With the latest accident, at least six workers have now died due to a mishap at an LTA worksite in slightly over a year. The fatal accident on Sept 17 is also the second to have occurred at a North-South Corridor construction site.
Almost exactly a year ago on Sept 16, 2023, a 41-year-old Bangladeshi worker died after he was struck by a pallet of gas cylinders that toppled during a lifting operation at a construction site in Cavenagh Road for the transport corridor.
Construction of the 21.5km-long North-South Corridor, which starts in Admiralty Road West and ends in East Coast Parkway near Republic Boulevard, began in 2018.
To be completed in phases, the transport corridor will comprise an 8.8km viaduct, which is targeted to open in 2027, and 12.3km of underground road tunnels slated to open in 2029.
Based on past media reports, at least 11 people have died in workplace accidents here in 2024 so far. In comparison, 36 workers died as a result of workplace accidents in Singapore in 2023, 46 in 2022, 37 in 2021, 30 in 2020 and 39 in 2019.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...orth-south-corridor-worksite-in-lentor-avenue
