Charred body found in bedroom affected by fire
The charred body of a man was found in a bedroom of a ninth-storey unit at Block 99, Aljunied Crescent.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and police responded to a fire in the HDB flat at around 2.15pm.
SCDF officers forced their way past the locked front door and also entered a burning bedroom through a window from the common corridor.
The window panes had been shattered beforethe firefighters arrived.
The fire, which involved contents in the bedroom, was put out with a water jet.
LPG CYLINDER IN ROOM
The New Paper understands that a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder was found in the bedroom. Neighbours told TNP that they heard an explosion.
Madam Mirry Yang, 55, who was about to take an afternoon nap in her eighth-storey unit, said: "It sounded abnormally loud - louder than thunder and it seemed to be coming from the corridor side.
"My husband and I also felt the walls and ceiling of our flat shake a little. I was scared, so I waited a while before I opened the door to check, but I didn't see anything."
Madam Yang added: "Then, a neighbour knocked on my door, and told us to evacuate as there was a fire on the ninth floor."
A domestic helper from Myanmar living two storeys above the affected unit, Madam May Thet, 53, said that the smoke covered the entire corridor outside. She was at home with her employer's 12-year-old son.
"We saw thick grey smoke rising up outside the window. There was also a burning smell," she said.
"We panicked and didn't know what to do until we were asked to evacuate. The police then told us to come back after 4pm."
TNP understands that residents from the ninth to 12th storeys were evacuated.
A police spokesman said: "The body of a man was found lying motionless at a unit of the said block and was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene."
The police are investigating the unnatural deathand the SCDF is investigating the cause of the fire.
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