‘We were screaming in pain’: Worker recalls Tuas explosion at inquiry hearing
SINGAPORE - Moments after an explosion shook a Tuas building and blew out its window panels, the eight workers who were in the workshop at the time ran to a nearby open field screaming in agony. Workers from neighbouring units went to splash water and hose down the badly burnt workers. The brutal experience of the Feb 24 blast at 32E Tuas Avenue 11 was shared by one of the injured workers, Mr Hossain Jitu, 32, before an inquiry committee on Tuesday (Sept 28). "We were screaming in pain at the open field, and workers from neighbouring units came out and started throwing and spraying water on us using a water hose," the Bangladeshi national testified. "I realised my shirt was on fire and part of it had already burnt off. I removed what was left of my burning shirt using my left hand." Mr Jitu, whose scars were visible beneath his mask in court, suffered burns to 54 per cent of his body and had difficulty breathing and closing his eyes. "The skin beneath my eyes was burnt and I was unable to close my eyes and sleep after the accident," he said. Three workers, Mr Subbaiyan Marimuthu, 38, Mr Anisuzzaman Md, 29, and Mr Shohel Md, 23, died from severe burns that covered 90 per cent of the...
