Parts of ITE College Central roof collapse, 2 people taken to hospital

[UPDATE April 7] An Institute of Technical Education (ITE) spokesperson told AsiaOne that heavy rainfall caused a tear on the roof membrane on April 6 at 5.15pm.

“Rainwater leaked through the tear, and two persons slipped on the wet floor sustaining minor injuries,” the spokesperson added.

ITE said that an engineer had inspected the membrane’s tear on the roof and had assessed the condition of the entire fly roof.

“He ascertained that the roof is safe. Meanwhile, repair works to the roof membrane have begun. The affected area has been cordoned off to ensure the safety of our staff and students,” said the ITE spokesperson.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has since clarified that the two persons were taken to Sengkang General Hospital, not National University Hospital (NUH).

Two people were taken to NUH after a segment of a roof at ITE College Central buckled under heavy rain on Wednesday (April 6).

The SCDF told AsiaOne that they received a call for assistance at about 5.30pm on Wednesday and two people were subsequently conveyed to NUH.

A nearby onlooker recorded a video of the roof with rain pouring in, zooming in multiple times at the hole in the roof as water fell onto the first floor of the building. 

The short clip was uploaded to TikTok and has garnered over 148,000 views at the time of writing.

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@fwappii/video/7083419200521325825?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=6944924152827184641[/embed]

Another onlooker uploaded Instagram stories lamenting that such an incident could only occur in ITE.

In the TikTok video's comments section, netizens were rather chill about the issue and didn't seem to understand the possible dangers surrounding such an incident.

"Looks kind of nice, not going to lie," one wrote as the TikTok creator replied by mentioning how cool it was.

This isn't the first such incident to take place in ITE College Central.

In November 2020, a roof pump malfunctioned and rainwater accumulated on the "bubble fly roof".

AsiaOne has reached out to ITE College Central for more information.

ALSO READ: Mount Elizabeth Hospital 'roof collapse due to rain'? No, it's ceiling leak from burst sprinkler

amierul@asiaone.com