Bangladeshi worker dies after part of excavator fell on him at Ubi worksite

SINGAPORE — A 37-year-old Bangladeshi foreign worker died on Thursday (April 22) after part of an excavator fell on him at a worksite in Ubi.

In response to TODAY’s queries, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Friday that the man had been assisting his co-worker to lift some steel frames using an excavator fitted with a concrete breaker attachment when a part of the equipment detached and fell on him.

The site where they were working is located along Ubi Road 3 and Ubi Avenue 1 and 2, MOM said.

The ministry added that it is investigating the incident and has instructed the employer of the man, as well as the occupier of the site — Right Construction Private Limited — to stop the use of excavators there.

The police said that they were alerted to the case of the industrial accident at 4.17pm on Thursday.

The man was unconscious when he was taken to Changi General Hospital, where he later died.

“Based on preliminary investigations, the police do not suspect foul play. Police investigations are ongoing,” they said.

The incident is the latest in a spate of fatal accidents involving migrant workers in recent months. 

In February, three workers died after a fire broke out at an industrial unit in Tuas. The blaze was caused by the ignition of potato starch powder, which is combustible when dispersed in the air within a confined space.

Describing the Tuas fire as one of the most serious workplace incidents in recent years, Mr Zaqy Mohamad, Senior Minister of State for Manpower, said then that MOM is taking the incident very seriously. 

The fire happened just two days after Mr Zagy said that the seven fatal workplace accidents in February across various industries was an “extremely alarming” figure.

On April 19, MOM issued a stop-work order to waste metal recycling firm Esun International after Mr Zaqy and inspectors from MOM's occupational safety and health division paid an unannounced visit to the firm’s facilities in Jurong. 

Also on April 19, a traffic accident on the Pan-Island Expressway involving a stationary tipper truck and a lorry ferrying 17 migrant workers in its cargo deck resulted in the deaths of two of the workers.