Jurong West HDB lift plunges to the ground from 4th floor, injuring woman

A woman was left injured after a lift that she was in at Block 542 Jurong West Avenue 1 "dropped" four storeys, before apparently getting stuck halfway below ground level.

Facebook user Raudhah Putri,whose family members had been in the lift, recounted the incident that occurred on Saturday night (July 1).

She said: "Dad was on his way out when my uncle heard a snap and he immediately pulled him back in. It was a close one though. If it were to be a few seconds later, his leg would have been stuck outside while the lift made its way down."

According to Raudhah, her aunt was "affected the most" as she injured her leg during the impact of the lift falling to the ground.

"Dad quickly tried to force open the door when he injured his hand afterwards and brought everyone out," she added, also explaining that her father wanted to evacuate as quickly as possible because "the lift wanted to move up even after it dropped".

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) responded to the incident at 9.40pm and said a woman in her 30s was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has issued a notice to suspend the lift in question for further investigation, reported The Straits Times.

In a media statement on July 2, a BCA spokesman said the Jurong-Clementi Town Council is required to appoint an independent Professional Engineer to investigate into the cause of the incident and submit a report with the recommended rectification works to BCA.

The lift is only allowed to resume its operation after the investigations are completed and the necessary rectification works by the Town Council's lift contractor are certified by the Professional Engineer, which must be done to the satisfaction of BCA, added the spokesman.