Tipper truck kills 2 construction workers at Mandai MRT site
All over Singapore, it is common to see workers grabbing a few minutes of sleep at construction sites during lunch time.
But the common practice ended in tragedy yesterday for two Bangladeshi workers who were napping at an MRT construction site in Mandai.
They died after a tipper truck reversed into them.
The accident at the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) Mandai Depot worksite is the second reported fatal accident there this year.
The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to the incident at 20, Lorong Lada Hitam at 1.15pm.
The SCDF sent two ambulances.
Paramedics pronounced one of the workers, 36, dead at the scene.
The other worker, 47, was unconscious and was being taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital when he was pronounced dead in the ambulance, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
SLEEPING ON GROUND
The men were employed by Gammon Pte Ltd, a contractor responsible for fire protection and electrical works.
A worker from the site told The Straits Times Online: "They were both sleeping on the ground after lunch. But they were not supposed to rest there.
"The lorry didn't see them and reversed into them."
Police have arrested the tipper truck driver for negligence causing death.
Investigations are ongoing.
The maximum punishment for causing death by a negligent act is a two-year jail term with fine.
Officers from the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate were also alerted and went to the scene immediately to investigate.
The LTA said it was deeply saddened at the fatal accident and will work with Gammon as well as main contractor Jurong Primewide to help the families of the affected workers.
The LTA said it would assist MOM and police with investigations.
Gammon could not be reached for comment.
There have been 55 workplace deaths so far this year, with 20 deaths in the construction sector.In May, Mr Riyade Hussain, a 23-year-old worker, died at the Mandai Depot construction site after he was pinned under a metal truss that had fallen from a trailer. He had come to work here from Bangladesh just five months earlier.
The Mandai Depot is being built for the TEL.
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