SINGAPORE — Workers stuck on a gondola at a construction site for a school in Punggol are being rescued after a fire broke out on Tuesday (May 16) afternoon.
In a Facebook post around 6pm, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said their personnel were trying to bring a fire under control at 17 Punggol Field Walk, the construction site for Global International Indian School. According to the SCDF, the fire engulfed an area of approximately 30 metres by 50 metres.
The SCDF also said rescue operations were successfully carried out to extricate two workers who were stuck on a gondola. Both men were conveyed to Changi General Hospital for smoke inhalation.
It’s currently unclear if there were any other casualties.
An eye witness said the fire broke out at about 4.35pm.
Taxi driver Poh Boon Seet, 41, was at IKEA Tampines at 4.30pm and said the sky was still clear then. But five minutes later, a black column of smoke could be seen in the sky. “It was twice the height of the site,” he said.
(Above: Smoke rises into the air after a fire broke out at a construction site in Punggol, May 16, 2017. Photo: Jason Quah)
The police advised motorists to avoid the area or take alternate routes as the left and centre lanes along Punggol East Road (towards Tebing Lane) closed.
(Above: The blackened exterior of a building is seen as a fireman continues to hose it down after a fire broke out at the site in Punggol, May 16, 2017. Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY)
This story is developing.
