SINGAPORE: A 43-year-old Singaporean man died on 30 May 2025 after falling from an 18m-high steel tower at a worksite near the Padang.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) confirmed that the man was a freelance industrial rope access worker engaged in abseiling when the accident occurred.
He was descending the tower, located along Connaught Drive, when his single anchorage rope failed, resulting in a fatal fall.
He was taken to Singapore General Hospital following the incident, where he succumbed to his injuries.
MOM has launched an investigation into the cause of the rope failure and overall safety compliance at the worksite.
“As a general safety reminder, personnel descending tall steel towers must utilise appropriate fall protection systems, such as secondary independent lifelines and other suitable safety devices,” said MOM in a statement.
The worker was employed by Showtec International, which described him as a rigger and said it is assisting his family during this time.
Riggers, according to the National Youth Council’s Discover On My Way website, are responsible for lifting equipment operations and system upkeep.
Workplace safety enforcement efforts
The incident has drawn renewed attention to ongoing workplace safety issues, especially in sectors involving high-risk tasks.
In the months leading up to the fatality, MOM conducted inspections at about 550 worksites between February and April 2025.
As a result, 13 stop-work orders and over S$375,000 in fines were issued to companies that breached safety regulations for high-risk work.
On 23 May, just a week prior to this latest incident, a 29-year-old Bangladeshi worker died at a Housing Board project site in Yishun.
He was struck by a reversing tipper truck while conducting survey work. A 61-year-old man was arrested for causing death by rash act.
In another case in March, a 66-year-old traffic controller died after an accident involving a road roller at an SP Group site in Joo Chiat.
The road roller operator, aged 39, was arrested for causing death by negligent act.
On 26 February, 44-year-old Bangladeshi worker Tanvir Hasan Khan died while repairing a cargo lift at a Tuas South warehouse when a steel beam struck his head.
Earlier, on 25 January, a 31-year-old Bangladeshi rigger and signalman died after falling into collapsed soil at a construction site in Raffles Place.
The site, located at 24 Raffles Place, is under redevelopment by S.L. Properties, part of Singapore Land Group.
The worker was assisting with installing a rebar cage when the ground gave way during lifting operations.
Workplace fatalities in Singapore rise to 43 in 2024
In March, MOM reported that workplace deaths in Singapore rose to 43 in 2024, up from 36 in 2023.
The construction, transport and storage, and marine sectors made up 80 per cent of the fatalities, with construction alone recording 20 deaths.
Vehicular incidents were the leading cause, followed by suffocation, drowning, and structural collapses.
The workplace fatality rate also increased to 1.2 per 100,000 workers in 2024, up from 0.99 in 2023.
This marked a reversal of the downward trend seen in earlier years.
The post Freelance rope access worker dies in 18m fall near Padang; MOM investigating incident appeared first on The Online Citizen.
