Today is not the best day for Singapore, with flash floods being in various parts of the city, and now a flash fire.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force, or SCDF, told Coconuts today that they responded to a call of a flash fire in a telco manhole this morning at Blk 439 Bukit Batok West. Videos circulating online showed dashcam footage of the manhole exploding moments after a lightning strike.
“On 24th August 2021 at about 9.10am, SCDF received a call for a flash fire from a manhole at Blk 439 Bukit Batok West. Upon SCDF’s arrival, there was no fire and no reported injury,” SCDF said.
Investigations showed that the bizarre occurrence was accidental in nature, it added.
The viral video was posted to Reddit today by user Spartacurse before it circulated elsewhere online. The manhole was situated right outside a multi-story car park and had exploded after a lightning strike. The Redditor later shared photos of the aftermath, showing bricks strewn across the ground.
Amy Khor, the Member of Parliament representing the area, went to the scene later on as SCDF officers and those from the PUB water agency gathered near the manhole. She said online that authorities will conduct checks on other manholes in the area to prevent similar incidents.
Representatives from the Housing Development Board, the area’s town council, the Netlink Trust broadband network, and utilities agency SP were also there.
“I have asked the agencies in-charge of the various manholes to check and ensure safety. The particular manhole, in which the explosion occurred, is a Telco manhole and investigations are underway as to the cause of the incident,” she said.
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