RESIDENTS’ VOICE CONCERNS OVER SAFETY
Speaking to CNA, a family living in a landed home on Tanjong Katong Road, which runs along Tanjong Katong Road South, said they heard a loud booming sound at about 5.48pm.
The water pressure in the house dropped drastically at the same time.
One of the residents, who did not want to be identified, said he looked out and saw four to five workers from a nearby construction site pulling a woman out of the sinkhole.
They showed CNA footage of what appeared to be a burst water pipe occurring near the area after midnight on Saturday, before the sinkhole appeared.
The family said they were woken up by the sound of water gushing from a work site at the junction of Mountbatten Road and Jalan Seaview.
This work site is located near the location of the sinkhole that appeared on Saturday afternoon.
The residents said they called the police but were unsure when the water stopped gushing.
Similarly, another One Amber resident also witnessed a similar incident in the early hours of Saturday morning.
At around 1am, Ms Mathilda Lam, 27, who works in healthcare, saw what looked like a “huge fountain” near the junction where the sinkhole opened. It is unclear if this is the same burst pipe incident seen by the family living in the private home.
“It was at least a storey high, and there were some people around there trying to fix it,” she said.
Some residents told CNA they were concerned about the safety of the area following this incident.
A Tanjong Katong resident, who declined to be named, said she frequently drives along the road where the sinkhole opened.
“I’m worried, because one section caved in, how safe is the rest of the road?” she asked.
Mrs Aishwarya Sheoran, who lives in One Amber, said she was worried because the sinkhole is quite large and is also relatively close to her block.
“I think they should come out and assure us … don’t worry, nothing is going to happen,” she said, adding that she has not heard a response from the condominium management.
Her husband, Mr Naveen Sheoran, said he is confident that the building’s foundation is strong.
“I’m not too concerned, because I’m pretty sure the foundation is very solid and this is a street further away,” he said. But he added that it would be helpful if the building management gives residents some kind of assurance.
A One Amber security guard told CNA that several residents had also asked the condo security about safety issues related to the sinkhole, but added that no cracks have been observed in buildings so far.
Some residents in the condominium also appeared unconcerned about the developments and were seen playing tennis and barbecuing food in the evening, while the authorities continued their work on the affected area.
PUB SCANNING AREA FOR OTHER CAVITIES
The sinkhole is about 2m to 3m deep and as wide as two lanes of the road, PUB’s director for the water reclamation network Mr Herman Ching said.
PUB was arranging “ground penetration radar” to scan the area and make sure there were no other cavities below ground, he said.
Recovery work would start after that and involve draining the water from the sinkhole, lifting the car out, and filling the sinkhole to restore the road, he said.
Mr Ching added that the safety of the workers remained a priority and that PUB would proceed with the works carefully.
Asked what the cause of the incident could be, he said: “We don’t have enough information to be certain. We will be looking into it and we will investigate further.”
He also said that there was no “major disruption” to water supply in the area.
A few households could experience low water pressure and PUB was making alternative arrangements to back up the water supply, he said.
