An explosion thought to have been caused by errors in handling dangerous or harmful substances happened near the swimming pool at Thomson Three, a condominium in Bright Hill Drive. It was suspected that the staff had an accident while handling chlorine powder (chlorine).
A loud explosion was heard on April 22 at about 4:15pm near the pool where a group of children were learning to swim. The children quickly left the pool. A 36-year-old man was injured but refused to be taken to hospital, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) which responded to the incident.
Shin Min Daily News reported that a housewife, Ms Chen, 62, told the SCDF she heard a loud explosion when she was at home in her HDB flat near the condo. Soon after, several fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars arrived. When she went to check what happened, she learned that there had been an incident in the condominium.
“I didn’t see any smoke or fire, I just saw paramedics carrying stretchers into the apartment,” she told Shin Min. She found an area near the swimming pool had been cordoned off. That led her to believe the accident happened in the swimming pool.
A friend of hers, who lives in the condominium, said a pool worker appeared to be injured after a loud explosion.
Nearby children leave the pool in a hurry
Shin Min said the management of the condo was unwilling to respond to its queries about the accident. A resident who witnessed the incident said that a group of children were taking swimming lessons at the time. They heard a loud “bang” and some children left the pool one after another.
The SCDF told the Chinese-language daily that it had received reports about a fire, which originated from a chemical powder that had set itself aflame before its officers arrived. One person suffered minor injuries but refused to be taken to hospital.
Police said they are investigating an incident of negligent acts involving dangerous or harmful substances.
Chlorine is not combustible, but it enhances the combustion of other substances. Chlorine reacts violently with many organic compounds, ammonia, hydrogen, and finely divided metals, causing fire and explosion hazards. The agent may ignite combustibles (wood, paper, oil, clothing, etc.).
By far, chlorine is the most harmful of the chemicals because when chlorine burns, it becomes a gas and gets into the air, which can have potentially harmful health effects.
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