SINGAPORE - A 25-year-old Bangladeshi construction worker died after a steel plate fell on him in an accident at a condominium worksite on Tuesday (Sept 17).

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has issued an order to stop the use and movement of all heavy machinery at the Hougang worksite where the accident happened.

The ministry is also investigating the accident, MOM told The Straits Times.

In its statement, an MOM spokesman said that the developer of the site is Florence Developer, while the occupier is Tiong Aik Construction. Dsoon Engineering is the dead worker's employer.

The accident took place at The Florence Residences worksite in Hougang Avenue 2, where nine 18-storey condominium blocks are scheduled to be completed in March 2022, according to Tiong Aik's website.

In a video of the accident circulating online, workers can be seen using an excavator to lift the steel plate in an attempt to rescue the trapped man.

Dsoon Engineering declined to comment on the accident when contacted by ST on Thursday.

ST has contacted Tiong Aik Construction for comment.

Seventeen workers died from workplace accidents in the first half of this year, compared to 18 workers in the same period last year.

A total of 41 cases of workers dying from workplace accidents were recorded in 2018.

Singapore's workplace fatal injury rate has gone down over the years, from 4.9 per 100,000 workers in 2004 to 1.2 per 100,000 in the past two years.

The Tripartite Strategies Committee's 2028 goal is to reduce Singapore's workplace fatal injury rate to less than 1.0 per 100,000 by that time