Hotel New World collapsed
Saturday, 15th March 1986
Disbelief was shared by Singaporeans when news broke out that a hotel had collapsed in Singapore. The six-storey Hotel New World at junction of Rangoon Road and Serangoon Road had collapsed. The tragedy claimed 33 lives.
Hotel New World collapsed on 15 March 1986 at about 11:25 am. The collapse, which lasted less than a minute, did not leave a single wall or column standing and reduced the entire building to rubble. Eight minutes after the collapse, the first two fire engines dispatched from the Central Fire Station on Hill Street arrived at the scene. Disbelief was shared by Singaporeans when news broke out that the six-storey Hotel New World Hotel collapsed.
A national disaster, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), hundreds of volunteers and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) worked hand in hand with specialist equipment to rescue the victims. They bravely faced a mammoth task in their attempt to save lives and clear the rubble. The rest of the nation gave help in any way they could: blood, food, money and care.
Companies voluntarily offered the use of specialist equipment worth thousands of dollars. Equipment such as the ultra-high pressure water machines that were able to blast through concrete without causing vibrations and 100-ton cranes to lift heavy concrete slabs facilitated the rescue efforts.
In the 7-day ordeal, People from different walks of life, races and nationalities responded as one. Public service organisations like the Red Cross and hundreds of ordinary Singaporeans came voluntarily and speedily to help. Staff of all the relief aid organisations looked after and alleviated the plight of the families of the victims.
Update: On 22 March 1986, President Wee Kim Wee appointed a commission of inquiry to investigate the cause of the collapse. In the final report that was released on 16 February 1987, the panel concluded that the collapse was due to the inadequate structural design of the building. The problem was further exacerbated by new installations on the roof and was exposed by the appearance of persistent cracks in columns, walls and floors weeks before the collapse. The commission also found that the architect's plans for the building were drawn up by an unqualified draughtsman, Leong Shui Lung. Leong had also recommended the building's architect Ee Hoong Khoon to the Lian Yak Realty Company Pte Ltd (UEN:196300233W). In March 1987, the commission noted that Ng Khoon Lim, the managing director of Lian Yak who had died in the collapse, was "very much in charge of the construction of the building and carried out the supervision himself".