A 10-year-old girl died on Tuesday after a fire broke out at a shophouse on River Valley Road in central Singapore, where education and enrichment classes for children were conducted, CNA reported.
Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam confirmed the fatality during his address at Changi Airport to welcome home the Operation Lionheart contingent that had returned from quake rescue efforts in Myanmar.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) posted on Facebook that a total of 15 children and five adults were taken to the hospital while around 80 people from the affected shophouse and nearby premises were evacuated.
It was alerted to the fire at 278 River Valley Road at 9.45 am.
Upon SCDF’s arrival, the fire was raging on the second and third floors of the three-storey shophouse. Several people were on a ledge outside the third-floor unit.
“Members of the public, including construction workers, used a metal scaffolding and a ladder to reach those stranded and brought a number of them to safety.
“SCDF immediately deployed rescue ladders and a Combined Platform Ladder to rescue the remaining stranded people on the ledge,” it added.
The fire was extinguished with three water jets within 30 minutes.
“The cause of the fire is under investigation. We would like to thank the members of the public who assisted in the rescue of the stranded persons for their quick actions and bravery,” SCDF said.