SINGAPORE: A 40-year-old Indian national died on Thursday after inhaling a poisonous gas while carrying out routine tank cleaning at a waterwork site here.
The Indian national, who has not been named, was one of three men aged between 24 and 40 who had collapsed and were found unconscious at the waterworks agency’s Choa Chu Kang Waterworks at about 11.15 am, reported The Straits Times.
All three were taken to the hospital unconscious, where the worker died.
The two surviving workers are in the intensive care unit at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, said the Public Utilities Board (PUB) in a statement.
The two men are Malaysians aged 24 and 39, and employed as general workers, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in a statement.
The Indian national was employed as a cleaning operations manager by Supersonic Maintenance Services, according to a report by the Channel News Agency, citing a Ministry of Manpower spokesperson.
The PUB expressed its condolences to the family of the worker who died and said it was in touch with its contractors and would provide support to the workers’ family members.
MOM added that the man who died was a cleaning operations manager and, along with the older Malaysian, was employed by Supersonic Maintenance Services.
The younger Malaysian works for Stargroup Est.
The ministry said it is investigating and has instructed PUB to stop all tank cleaning work.
PUB, in a statement, said early investigations suggest that the workers had inhaled hydrogen sulphide — a gas produced from sludge, which is a by-product of the water treatment process.
Cleaning works are carried out at the plant routinely once every three months.