A tower crane collapsed at around 2.15 p.m. on Feb. 22 at the NUS Alumni Complex construction site resulting in three fatalities and injuring two others.

The three men killed, a Chinese, a Malay and an Indian, were construction workers in their 40s. 

According to a Singapore Civil Defence Force spokesman, the Chinese worker was found trapped at the side of the crane. The Malay and Indian men were found trapped in the crane, as they were operating the crane at the time of the incident. 

It took the SCDF team 45 minutes to retrieve the bodies in a “delicate operation.” The three workers were pronounced dead by ambulance paramedics at the scene. 

The official cause of the accident was unknown at press time. 

One speculation is that the unstable foundation could have caused the accident. 

Charles Goh, a 39-year-old safety officer at a construction company, said, “This looks like a hammerhead crane. The accident could be due to unstable ground or soil foundation. It looks to me like it’s a failure of the mast (foundations).” 

The impact of the crash near the School of Business was loud enough to be heard at the The Deck canteen in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. 

Marcus Chong, a first-year arts student, was at The Deck canteen when he witnessed the accident. He said there was a low grumbling sound, followed by a huge thud. 

Chong said, “At first I didn’t know what was happening. Everyone in the deck turned to see what the commotion was. When I realised a crane had collapsed, it was really quite scary to see the frantic faces of the people who were fleeing the scene.” 

The proximity of the crash narrowly missed a bus stop.

Marcus Wang, a first-year arts student, said, "I saw people running frantically from the business school bus stop. When I went to the scene I realised that the crane had nearly hit the bus stop. Imagine the number of casualties if that had happened." 

However, Goh, who has 17 years of experience in the construction industry, explained that there might be other factors that might have caused the accident. For example, it is not known if the crane might have been connected to an adjoining building for support. 

Goh said, “According to Singapore law, a hammerhead crane must be connected to an adjoining building… unless the company gets approval from the authorities.” 

According to a Feb. 2005 press release, construction of the alumni complex and upgrading of the Guild House was initiated by NUS and the NUS Society. It was expected to cost about $41 million to complete.