SCDF rescues two workers stranded on gondola at 40th floor of Capital Tower in Tanjong Pagar

Fatimah Mujibah
The Straits Times
March 20, 2023

Two workers were rescued by Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers in a height rescue operation that lasted two hours on Monday afternoon, after a gondola they were on was stuck on the 40th floor at Capital Tower.

SCDF said it was alerted to the incident at 1.40pm, and the men were rescued by officers from its elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Dart) and brought to safety inside the 52-storey office building in Tanjong Pagar.

It added that firefighters who arrived at the scene proceeded to the 41st storey to assess the condition of the men and the gondola’s stability.

The two workers were stranded on a gondola stuck on the 40th floor at Capital Tower. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

The Dart officers conducted their rescue operation from the same storey, making use of rescue ropes, which were lowered to a platform.

A specialist from the Dart team had descended onto the gondola and brought one worker up to safety first. The other worker, who had difficulties moving, needed to be secured onto a stretcher before being hoisted up to safety.

When The Straits Times arrived at 3.50pm, there was a police cordon and a few people had gathered at the lobby of the building looking up.

One of the workers was seen lying on a stretcher, being attended to by paramedics while wearing a neck brace. He had a bandaged arm, although there were no visible injuries.

Both workers were taken to Singapore General Hospital, said SCDF.

In September 2022, Dart officers conducted a height rescue operation, when a male worker was stranded on a gondola between the eighth and ninth storeys of a Housing Board block in Teck Whye Lane for around 40 minutes.

• Additional reporting by Jason Quah