An external structure at Blk 201E Tampines Street 23 has partially collapsed. The Police have cordoned off a section of the block after the collapse. The block is a four-storey development with several shoplots on the ground floor.

One promoter who works in one of the shops at the block said that she heard a loud sound like “bricks dropping down” and a “loud bang”. She said that she did not expect the effect to be so great.

The promoter said that she was “very shocked and very stunned” to see the collapse. She thought HDB flats are supposed to be quite safe and “has never seen something like this happen before.”

But she said that as the Police had only cordoned off a section of the block, it could still be safe for her to continue working.

Blk 201E at Tampines Street 23 is a 30-year-old block which was completed in the year 1987.