User:Hamstersanonymous/Sandbox

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Works in progress and drafts here. Feel free to drop comments in discussion or fix minor errors, but no major changes please. (collaborators exempted) Thanks.

1 Nicoll Highway collapse
2 Bukit Ho Swee Fire
- 2.1 References
- 2.2 See Also
3 Others

[edit] Nicoll Highway collapse

News clipping from The Straits Times

At approximately 3.30 pm on 20 April 2004, a road section along the Nicoll Highway in Singapore collapsed suddenly, killing 4 people and injuring another 3.

The collapse happened at a construction site of the underground Circle MRT Line. The supporting structure for the deep excavation work failed, resulting in a 30-metre deep cave-in that spread across six lanes of Nicoll Highway.

[edit] The Victims

Vadivil s/o Nadeson, crane operator
A Malaysian of Indian descent, his body was the first to be recovered. The 44-year-old had reportedly tried to escape by jumping out from his crane when the incident struck. He was found caught between a pick-up truck and a container.

Liu Rong Quan, construction worker
The body of the 36-year-old Chinese national from Jiangsu province was found wedged between the wheel and chassis of a 10-tonne truck. Liu had started working at the site just ten days before the incident. He leaves behind a wife and daughter.

John Tan Lock Yong, Land Transport Authority engineer
The third victim to be found, Tan was due to finish his contract with LTA at the end of this year and was planning to migrate to Australia or New Zealand then. He leaves behind his wife, a grown-up daughter and a son.

Heng Yeow Peow, foreman
The body of the 40-year-old Singaporean was not recovered. According to survivor accounts, Heng had selflessly hurried his workers to safety but was himself trapped when the collapse occurred. Heng leaves behind his wife, two young children, his 70-year-old mother and nine siblings.

[edit] Cause of the Incident

The reason behind the collapse was attrributed to the failure of the strut-waler support system, which held the diaphragm walls for in place.

TODO

expand on causes and criminal liability found by COI

useful refs:

[edit] External Links

[[Category:History of Singapore]] [[Category:Disasters]] [[Category:Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore)]] {{sg-stub}}

[edit] Bukit Ho Swee Fire

The Bukit Ho Swee Fire is a fire that broke out in the squatter settlement of Bukit Ho Swee, Singapore on May 25, 1961. Four people died, eighty-five were injured, and 16,000 were made homeless and more than 2,200 attap houses were destroyed in the 250-acre fire. Other propeties such as oil mills, timber yards and shophouses were also severly damaged.

Although other smaller household fires have occurred at Bukit Ho Swee, the Bukit Ho Swee fire set a historical precedent in Singapore and is comparable to other fires such as the Great Fire of London, even though the it was smaller.

The cause of the fire is thought to be the immense flammability of the squatter settlement, in addition to the lack of hygiene and cramped space.

Hygiene? =Þ These are not causes but were factors found to contribute to the spread of the fire. Hamstersanonymous

Although the fire was probably caused by someone being careless, (a recurring theme which occurs in other fires, such as someone knocking over an oil lamp)

Is there some conclusive findings for this? Is the oil lamp bit really necessary? Hamstersanonymous

Singaporean historians tend to agree it was inevitable due to the conditions of the squatter settlement.

"Historians" - any specific references? Hamstersanonymous

The fire itself tended to be part of the citation in many arguments afterwards by the People's Action Party who wished to relocate the squatters to more permanent, sanitary and humane housing, in addition to reducing social unrest.

Government or the PAP? Need to clarify "acting in what capacity".

Clarify "social unrest" as reason for relocating squatters. References would be nice Hamstersanonymous

The government acquired the razed land and began reconstruction immediately after the fire to house the homeless. The Housing Development Board (HDB), chaired by Lim Kim San, built the first five blocks of 768 flats in just 9 months. During the next four years, over 8,000 flats were built and those who lost their homes were able to return.

TODO