27m-long metal strip falls 8 storeys from roof of building in Hougang, man nearly hit by debris
Someone could have been hurt.
A 27m-long metal strip, part of an external feature of a commercial building in Hougang, fell eight storeys onto the road on March 11 afternoon.
Stomper RH shared photos of the debris on the road in front of the Inspace building at 24 New Industrial Road.
"The sunshade from the facade dislodged," said the Stomper.
Photos show the police closing the road to traffic.
"The building was shut down," added the Stomper, who shared a photo of people climbing over a fence and using a ladder behind the building since they could not go by the front because of safety concerns.
In response to a Stomp query, a spokesperson for the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said BCA had received a call from the police regarding a strip of architectural feature that had fallen from the eight-storey light industrial-cum-office building.
"Upon arrival, BCA engineers found that a 27m-long architectural feature had fallen from the roof level, with some parts of it landing on the ground. In the process, it struck another architectural feature below, leaving it partially dangling from the fifth floor," said the spokesperson.
"As an immediate precautionary measure, the area directly below the affected section has been cordoned off. The building owner's appointed contractor will remove the loose and overhanging architectural features to prevent further hazards."
The spokesperson added that BCA instructed the building owner to appoint a professional engineer to investigate the cause of the incident and inspect the condition of the rest of the building facade. The owner will also be required to carry out permanent rectification works as recommended by the engineer.
A piece of falling debris narrowly missed an employee of a store on the ground floor, reported The Straits Times.
Footage from a ceiling camera inside the employee's office shows him just outside the unit as a thunderous crash is heard. He jumped backwards towards his office door just before a piece of debris hit the ground where he was standing.
Stomp understands there were no injuries.
