Quick-Thinking Workers Escape Potential Disaster
Two men were working on a gondola outside a Housing Board block in Pasir Ris when multiple cables on one side of their platform suddenly gave way, causing the gondola to tip dangerously toward the ground.
Stranded mid-air on the seventh floor, the quick-thinking workers jumped into the nearby stairwell and managed to escape the precarious situation. Had they not acted swiftly and if additional cables had failed, the two migrant workers could have faced a life-threatening fall of approximately 20 meters.
This incident marks the second occurrence in five weeks involving a faulty gondola endangering workers’ lives. The Ministry of Manpower is currently investigating the incident, which took place around 9:30 AM on Wednesday at Block 708 Pasir Ris Drive.
The workers were fortunate to have acted quickly as the loosening cables left the gondola in an almost vertical position. According to Shin Min Daily News, the gondola had been positioned outside the HDB block on Tuesday for workers assigned to install nets to prevent birds from nesting in the area.
While the men were working outside the building’s seventh floor the following morning, the cables on the right side of the platform became loose, causing the gondola to tilt at a perilous angle, with one end reaching the sixth floor.
A video capturing the gondola’s near-vertical position can be found on the Shin Min Daily News Facebook page. A resident who witnessed the incident reported that some of the materials the workers were using fell to the ground, but fortunately, the men had the presence of mind to escape into the stairwell.
Neither worker sustained injuries, but both were taken to the hospital for a medical evaluation. A spokesperson for the town council stated that the incident has been reported to the Ministry of Manpower, although they are uncertain about the cause of the cable failure.
This incident follows a similar event on February 18, when two workers painting the exterior of an apartment block in Punggol were left dangling in mid-air after a cable on their gondola suddenly snapped.
That occurrence happened around 4 PM at Block 176D Edgefield Plains in Punggol and was recorded by a resident who lived in the area. The footage showed that one or more cables had become dislodged, leaving the gondola in a dangerous position 16 stories above ground. Those workers also escaped injury, thanks to alert residents who recognized the danger and opened their windows to assist the workers.
