Worker crushed in accident failed to heed colleague's instructions: Coroner

Colleague who was operating truck also did not notice him in time to avert tragedy

- Christine Tan

A foreign worker who died after his chest was crushed by the machinery on a truck had not heeded his colleague's instructions regarding work processes, according to a coroner's inquiry.

His colleague, who was operating the truck then and was responsible for the worker's safety, had also not noticed Mr Ponraman Eazhumalai, 23, before he was crushed.

On May 16, Coroner Brenda Chua released her findings into the death of Mr Eazhumalai, an Indian national who was fatally injured on Dec 2, 2023, at the worksite for the upcoming Tengah integrated rail and bus depot in Jurong Road.

Mr Eazhumalai was an assistant pump operator at TMC Concrete Pumping Services, while his colleague, Mr Vellaisamy Saravana Kumar, was a concrete pump truck operator.

They had completed their concrete casting work at about 10.50pm that night, and were preparing to retract the machinery on the truck when the accident happened.