Tuas explosion: Inquiry Committee chaired by judge involved in Nicoll Highway collapse inquiry

One of the worst incidents in recent years.

Jason Fan | March 05, 2021, 07:16 PM

An Inquiry Committee has been appointed under the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Act by Manpower Minister Josephine Teo, to inquire into the causes and circumstances that led to a fatal fire and explosion at 32E Tuas Avenue 11 on Feb. 24, 2021.

The explosion left three workers dead, with preliminary investigations revealing that the accident was caused by a combustible dust explosion.

Inquiry Committee will ascertain the cause of the explosion

According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on March 5, the Inquiry Committee will be chaired by Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun.

Ong was previously involved in the inquiry into the collapse of the Circle Line at Nicoll Highway in 2004.

He will be assisted by two assessors: Lucas Ng Hong Kiang, General Manager of Plant, Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore (Private) Limited, and Peter Nagler, Chief Innovation Officer at A*STAR.

The committee will look into the cause of the incident, by looking at the evidence to see if there were negligent contraventions, and will make recommendations to prevent the recurrence of such accidents.

The Inquiry Committee began its work on March 5, 2021, with a visit to the incident site with Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad.

The date and venue of the Inquiry will be announced on a later date.

11 fatalities in February

During a doorstop interview, Zaqy noted that this incident was "one of the worst" in recent years, and emphasised that MOM will take action to help prevent future such incidents.

He also revealed that there were a total of 11 workplace fatalities in February, which is "extremely alarming".

Zaqy said that MOM has ramped up inspections relating to combustible dusts, and will cover 500 more sites to ensure similar conditions do not occur again.

He also said that while MOM understands employers are working under different conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic, this is not an excuse for the safety of workers to be compromised.

Put in necessary resources and training for safety

As companies try to manage safe management measures amid Covid-19, they also need to think about risk assessments and changes in working conditions.

Employers must also do their part to ensure that every worker deployed is trained, and put in the resources to ensure safety is managed well.

"We are determined to make Singapore one of the safest places. We have come quite far since the Nicoll Highway incident, from 4.9 fatalities per 100,000 workers to 1.1 per 100,000 workers today. We want to keep it that way," said Zaqy.

Top image via Zaqy Mohamad/FB.