Soil mixing machine topples at Housing Board project site; no injuries reported
The mast of a deep soil mixing machine toppled at a Housing Board project site in Towner Road on Saturday (July 30) morning.
No one was injured in the workplace accident which took place at about 9.30am, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in response to queries.
A team of three workers employed by L&M Foundation Specialist was performing checks on the machine when its mast fell, MOM said.
Photographs of the accident shared on social media showed that the toppled mast had also brought down some of the metal barriers surrounding the work site, which is occupied by He Zhan Construction.
A large part of the mast can also be seen lying on the road outside the construction site.
MOM said it is investigating the accident.
It added: "As a general safety measure, machinery must be operated in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications and maintained regularly."
The accident comes as the issue of workplace safety has continued to come under close scrutiny in Singapore, with Manpower Minister Tan See Leng this week urging companies and workers to get back on track in achieving high workplace safety and health standards.
In a later interview with The Straits Times, Dr Tan said that monitoring of work sites had been stepped up after a recent spate of fatal accidents.
There have been 31 work-related deaths this year, the most over the same period since 2016 and exceeding the 30 worker deaths recorded in the whole of 2020.
In a signal that there is grave concern over the death toll, Radin Mas MP Melvin Yong will speak on workplace safety for up to 20 minutes in an adjournment motion at the end of next Monday's parliamentary sitting, with Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad set to reply.
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