Explosion at Audi service centre in Ubi leaves 1 injured, causes part of wall to collapse

SINGAPORE — An explosion at a building in Ubi on Tuesday (March 7) morning left one person injured and caused a section of the building’s ground-level wall to collapse.

The incident took place at the Ubi 55 commercial building, where carmaker Audi's service centre is located, and led to about 100 people evacuating the premises.

In response to TODAY’s queries, Audi said that the collapse of the building’s wall on level one was caused by an explosion.

The company said that it will be working with the relevant authorities to identify the cause of the explosion.

Customers who have cars at the workshop or who have made appointments in the next few days have been contacted for alternative arrangements, it added. No new appointments will be taken until the workshop is back in operation. 

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that it was alerted at about 8.55am to the incident at 55 Ubi Road 1 — an eight-storey building located in the district near Paya Lebar and Eunos.

Early investigations showed that a fire had occurred in the motor room of the building located on the ground floor.

Before firefighters were on the scene, about 100 people had evacuated from the building and the fire had burnt itself out, SCDF added. 

When its personnel reached the site, they noticed that a section of the wall at the side of a building had collapsed.

SCDF said in a Facebook post: "We understand that prior to SCDF's arrival, a few members of the public had used fire extinguishers upon seeing smoke emitting from the motor room. In the midst of their efforts, one of them fell down and sustained abrasions to both hands."

The person was taken to Raffles Hospital and there were no other reported injuries.

Investigations by SCDF are ongoing.

Audi said that the building has been closed off temporarily to facilitate ongoing investigations.

"At this point, the Ubi 55 building has been certified by SCDF as being safe for occupation, and Audi service centre aims to resume normal operation by the end of this week," it added.