Devotee hit by falling tiles at Waterloo Street Temple, safety netting installed over archway

3 tiles fall & hit man’s arm at Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple on Waterloo Street

While visiting the famous Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple on Waterloo Street, a man was hit by falling tiles.

The temple has since installed safety netting over the arch after the incident that took place on Sunday (29 Dec), reported Lianhe Zaobao.

Tiles rain down on Waterloo temple devotee, he suffers cuts

Eyewitness Song Kangming (transliterated from Mandarin), told Zaobao that three porcelain shards came loose and fell from the arch at about 10am that day.

The 48-year-old civil servant said he’d heard the sound of the tiles crashing onto the floor and turned to see that they had hit the arm of a man in his 50s who was reaching out to offer incense.

While the injuries weren’t serious, the devotee did suffer some cuts.

A woman carrying a child nearby was also shocked by the sudden incident.

Tiles believed to have fallen off due to disrepair

Mr Song inspected the fallen yellow pieces of tile after the incident.

He believes they had fallen off due to a long period of disrepair.

Another arch in the temple also looked quite old, he said.

He hoped the temple would take measures immediately to ensure the safety of devotees, especially with the expected increase in visitors in the lead-up to the Lunar New Year.

A 50-year-old flower vendor named only as Ms Chen (transliterated from Mandarin) told Zaobao that she has been selling flowers outside the temple for more than 30 years and has never seen the temple undergo major renovtions.

Waterloo temple installs netting over tiles in archway

On Monday (30 Dec), it was observed that safety netting had been put up over the decorative panels of the archway.

The covering was taped down on all sides.

A spokesman for the temple told Zaobao that the netting was to protect the public.

Discussions over the temple’s restoration measures will be taking place, they said.

Also read: Waterloo Street Temple Sees Hundreds Of Devotees On CNY Day 1, Some Queue Since 12.30am

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Featured image adapted from Lianhe Zaobao.