Highway collapse kills man

2004-04-20 15:06

Singapore - Excavation on a new subway line caused a section of highway to collapse near Singapore's central business district on Tuesday following an underground explosion, leaving at least one man dead and three workers injured.

Workmen said they believed as many as 20 of their co-workers were trapped beneath the rubble and four others were missing at the scene.

Police ruled out terrorism or sabotage as the cause, attributing the blast to damaged underground power cables.

"There was a huge series of explosions," said a worker who had fled the scene.

Civil defence officials confirmed the first death. One of the three injured was identified as a 32-year-old Thai worker and was rushed to Singapore General Hospital.

Other hospitals prepared for more arrivals.

The excavation and section of road collapsed at 09:45 during construction of the underground MRT subway near Nicoll Highway, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in a statement.

An estimated nine-metre section of the highway had caved in.

Residents and office workers in two skyscrapers the Golden Mile complex and tower were evacuated together with people in nearby building.

"No buildings suffered damage," said police spokesperson Tan Soo Nik.

A witness Paul Beckman said structural steel "holding the earth back had collapsed".

The blast triggered a blackout and disrupted utility supplies in the area, said the LTA.

"We could smell gas in the vicinity," said another police spokesperson, Tan Puay Kern. While stressing there was no danger of any buildings caving in, police directed vehicles off a nearby bridge fearing it would collapse. Sapa-dpa

- SAPA