There has been a worrying spate of workplace tragedies in Singapore despite calls to ramp up safety measures.
Recently, yet another worker passed away in Pulau Brani after falling off a boat at the Police Coast Guard’s (PCG) headquarters and hitting the propeller of the motor.
This brings the number of workplace fatalities this year to 31.
Authorities are currently investigating the incident but suspect no foul play at the moment.
The Straits Times (ST) reports that a 55-year-old Singaporean worker passed away on 20 Jul. He had fallen off the boat he was working on and got hit by the propeller of the vehicle’s motor.
Source: Kadri Kalvo on Flickr
Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council chairman John Ng relayed the tragic news during a speech at the annual WSH Awards ceremony at Resorts World Sentosa on Wednesday (27 Jul).
Speaking to ST, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) confirmed that the accident took place at 11am on the PCG’s base at 11 Brani Way.
Source: @mindefsg on Twitter
The employee was under consultancy services and training firm Citadelle. There was no one else on the boat with him at the time of the incident.
The police received an alert about the accident at 11.20am. A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) paramedic pronounced him dead at the scene.
Investigations into the accident are currently ongoing. Preliminary investigations do not indicate any foul play.
According to ST, the worker was a trainer. As such, MOM has asked Citadelle to cease all training activities.
“As a general safety measure, boat operators must be familiar with and adhere to safety precautionary measures when operating marine craft,” MOM reminded. “These include the use of a safety kill-switch to shut off the motor should the operator fall overboard.”
The latest tragedy brings the number of workplace deaths in Singapore thus far to 31, one more than the figure recorded in the whole of 2020.
It is also the third workplace death to take place at sea this year. Back in Apr, an Indonesian worker passed away after losing his balance and falling into the water.
A month later, another worker drowned after falling into the sea while crossing a gangway from one vessel to another.
The frequency of workplace fatalities led to MOM calling for a two-week safety time-out in May.
During this period, companies were urged to reinforce and review their safety protocols in the workplace.
The growing number of workplace tragedies is most certainly a cause for concern.
Hopefully, investigations will yield more details about the latest unfortunate tragedy so that companies can take the appropriate steps to tighten up safety measures.
MS News offers our deepest condolences to the loved ones of the deceased. May he rest in peace.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from @mindefsg on Twitter.
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