SINGAPORE: A 28-year-old worker died on Wednesday after an accident involving tree pruning works, the Ministry of Manpower MOM said on Thursday.
The number of workplace deaths for this year was 43, MOM said in a statement. This surpasses the 37 workplace deaths reported last year for the whole of last year.
The accident took place on Wednesday at about 3.30 pm on Toa Payoh East Road, near 1003 Toa Payoh Industrial Park, said MOM.
A Bangladeshi national was involved in the loading of tree trunks via a lorry crane after tree pruning works.
During the lifting operation, as a tree trunk was being hoisted, it dislodged from the lifting sling and struck him, MOM said. This caused him to fall and hit his head against the pavement. The man was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital where he died from his injuries.
As a general safety measure, all loads must be properly rigged and secured by a competent rigger before carrying out any lifting operations by mobile cranes, said MOM.
The employer of the worker and occupier of the site where the accident occurred was Penta Landscape.
MOM said it was investigating the accident and instructed the company to stop all tree pruning and lifting activities.