A construction worker has been reported missing after a structure at a work site in Tanjong Pagar collapsed on Thursday afternoon. The accident took place at 1 Bernam Street, former Fuji Xerox Towers.

The body of a missing worker has been recovered and he was found pinned under a collapsed reinforced concrete structure around 6pm.

He had no pulse and his body was recovered after a nearly four-hour effort to free him from the rubble.

The deceased worker’s employer is Aik Sun Demolition and Engineering.

The former Fuji Xerox Towers is undergoing demolition works and it will be re-developed into Newport Plaza, a 47-storey iconic mixed-use development with residential units, serviced apartments, and offices. It comprises the commercial Newport Tower(9-storey) and Newport Residences condo offering 246 residential units, 198 units of serviced apartments.

City Developments Limited (CDL) is the property developer for Newport Plaza and Woh Hup is the builder. 

Search operations for the missing worker were conducted by officers deployed from the elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART), the 1st SCDF Division and the Marina Bay Fire Station.

Two SCDF search canines have also been deployed to assist in the search in an area of about 20 metres by 10 metres. These are rescue and disasters dogs trained to search for live humans in a variety of demanding environments.

In total, SCDF deployed 11 emergency vehicles, about 70 officers and two search dogs to the scene.

Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has issued a Stop Work Order (SWO) until a thorough investigation of this work site accident has been completed. 

"We are deploying heavy machinery at (the) site to be utilised in the cutting and lifting operations," Colonel Firoz Ramjan, commander of the 1st SCDF Division, told journalists at the scene.

CDL postponed the launch preview for Newport Residences after the Government increased the ABSD across all tiers in April this year. ABSD on any residential property purchase by foreigners has doubled from 30 per cent to 60 per cent.