Coroner’s Court Finds Engineer Died After Falling Through False Ceiling During Inspection
On 8 Apr last year, an engineer passed away after falling from a height at the CapitaSpring building.
Source: CapitaLand
According to local reports, she had fallen from a height of 30 metres and suffered several fractures to her skull, spine, pelvis, and limbs.
On Tuesday (25 Apr), a coroner’s court opened an inquiry into her death.
Incident happened during a site inspection
Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported that on the day of the incident, the victim, Carina Monton Isip, was at CapitaSpring for a site inspection.
At the time, the 48-year-old engineer was working for Dragages Singapore and had 27 years of construction experience.
As it stands, the company had asked a contractor to install a gondola system to clean the building’s inner facade wall.
Hence, workers on the 16M floor had removed the grating cover of the catwalk as part of the arrangement as there was a false ceiling access panel underneath that needed to be reviewed.
Engineer died after taking a step onto the false ceiling
When the workers found out that the false ceiling was blocking the installation, part of the panels had to be cut.
Therefore, Ms Isip wanted to inspect the site in question and asked another worker to bring her to the spot.
According to CNA, Ms Isip had walked in front of the worker at Level 16M.
When she walked past the relevant portion, the worker called her back to show her the correct area.
After bending slightly forward to take a look, she stepped onto the false ceiling, which was made of gypsum board.
The Straits Times (ST) reported that Ms Isip, who weighed 52kg at the time, fell through the panel, which was only 1cm thick.
She plunged 30m to the ninth story and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Walkway was considered ‘safe’
According to Lucas Ng from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), there were guardrails protecting those on the walkway.
Furthermore, there were also signs around the area that said “fall hazard”.
However, there were no signs warning people about the dangers specific to the false ceiling.
Thus, it’s possible that despite knowing about the building’s features, Ms Isip may have forgotten about the false ceiling on that level before the accident.
Mr Ng also testified in court that people on the walkway on level 16M did not need to wear safety gear.
Following the inquiry on Tuesday, State Coroner Adam Nakhoda will give his findings at a later date.
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Featured image adapted from Wikipedia and RSP, for illustration purposes only.
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