Explosion at Tuas Incineration Plant kills 1, injures 2; 'tragic incident' under probe: Grace Fu
SINGAPORE — An explosion at the Tuas Incineration Plant on Thursday afternoon (23 September) has left a Singaporean man dead and two others with burn injuries.
A 65-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic. The two other injured men aged 59 and 64, both also Singaporeans, were taken to the Singapore General Hospital.
About 80 people self-evacuated from the plant located at Tuas Avenue 20, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) in a Facebook post.
The SDCF said they had arrived to a smoke-logged electrical switch room on the first floor of the premises after responding to the incident at about 3.15pm.
A chimney fan switch in the room was involved in the fire and the SCDF extinguished a few pockets of fire with two extinguishers, it added, noting that the incident is under investigation.
In response to Yahoo News Singapore's queries, the National Environment Agency (NEA), which operates the plant, said in a statement that there was a “localised explosion” in the electrical switch room.
Technicians were operating the high tension electrical switchgear for maintenance work, it said, adding that it is in contact with the officers’ family members and providing all assistance possible.
"All other Tuas Incineration Plant workers are safe. Operations at the plant have been safely wound down," said the NEA.
Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu in a Facebook post said she was deeply saddened by the incident and conveyed her deepest condolences to the families of the victims.
"We will investigate the cause of this tragic incident to prevent any future occurrences," she added.
The fire comes amid an ongoing inquiry into a blast that killed three migrant workers – also in the Tuas area – on 24 February this year. The blast occurred at the Stars Engrg workshop in the Platinum@Pioneer industrial building at 32E Tuas Avenue 11.
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