36th Storey, PSA Building, 460 Alexandra Road, Singapore 119963.

Tel: 3757794/5

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1 A 45-tonne mobile crane toppled at a construction worksite at Upper Serangoon Road on 26 Oct 99 (Tues) at about 4.20 pm. The crane’s boom went out of the worksite and hit a car that was travelling along Upper Serangoon Road. The boom smashed into the rear of the car but the driver of the car escaped unhurt. The operator of the crane also escaped unscathed.

2 This is the construction worksite for one of the MRT stations of the North- east Line. The main contractor is Kumagai, Sembawang Engineering and Mitsui Joint Venture (KSM).

3 Preliminary investigations conducted by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) indicated that the crane was attempting to lift a mini-excavator into a 10-m deep pit at the worksite. It was likely that the crane toppled because it was loaded beyond its safe working capacity.

4 Following the accident, the Land Transport Authority (LTA), in conjunction with MOM, is reviewing the present procedures on lifting operations at MRT worksites. If necessary, these procedures will be further tightened to ensure that lifting operations are conducted safely at all times.

27 OCTOBER 1999