SINGAPORE – A construction worker was injured on Oct 10 after falling from a height of about 2.3m at a worksite for the upcoming Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link station in Woodlands North.
He was dismantling falsework at about 8.20pm when the incident happened, a Land Transport Authority (LTA) spokesperson said in response to queries from The Straits Times.
Falsework refers to a temporary structure used to support a permanent one while it is not self-supporting.
A safety timeout has been called to review and further enhance safety processes at the site with main contractor Penta-Ocean Construction, a Japanese company.
In response to queries, Penta-Ocean said it was working with LTA on the incident and directed ST to the authority for updates.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it received a call for assistance at about 9pm on Oct 10 from 49A Woodlands Avenue 9, the address of Penta-Ocean Construction’s site office. One person was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, SCDF said.
LTA added that the worker is currently under observation.
LTA and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said they are investigating the incident.
Construction of the Singapore side of the rail link started in 2021. Civil infrastructure work crossed the two-thirds mark in January 2024. Passenger service is expected to start by December 2026.
This is the first of two incidents involving worksite injuries in two days. On Oct 11, a 38-year-old Bangladeshi construction worker died at a worksite in McNair Road after he was struck by a precast concrete drain channel that was being lifted by an excavator.
In June, one construction worker was killed and another injured at the same RTS Link worksite in Woodlands North. The workers, aged 48 and 49, were injured by falling steel reinforcement bars that were being installed for the station’s foundation.
They were taken to Woodlands Health Campus Hospital, where the younger man, a Bangladeshi national, died. The older man’s injuries were minor, MOM said at the time.
There were 293 major workplace injuries recorded between January and June 2024, according to MOM figures released in October. These are severe non-fatal injuries including dislocation, fracture and paralysis.
Nineteen workers died on the job in the first half of 2024, including five in the construction sector.
SOURCE: THE STRAITS TIME (Vanessa Paige Chelvan POST)
