SINGAPORE: Two hotels in Little India had to evacuate their guests in the early hours of Tuesday (Oct 8) following the partial collapse of two shophouses on Syed Alwi Road.
A third hotel reported damage.
The partial collapse of the two-storey shophouse units at 84 and 85 Syed Alwi Road, which injured six people, is believed to have been caused by a gas explosion.
It occurred at about 1.30am, with witnesses reportedly hearing a loud explosion.
The Royal India Hotel, which is located three shophouses away from the affected site, told CNA that around 60 of its guests had to be evacuated at about 1am and were only allowed to return to their rooms at 5am.
The hotel’s front desk receptionist Sarah Saraswathy said that they had to transfer one of their guests to another hotel as she was pregnant.
It was a similar case for the Arianna Hotel, which is located just next door to 84 Syed Alwi Road.
Mr Wong Pek Onn, the hotel’s front desk receptionist, told CNA that their checkout time had been pushed back from 12pm to 2pm in light of the incident. This would give their guests more time to rest, he said.
No visible damage was seen on either hotel, but Mr Wong said that Singapore Civil Defence Force personnel were inspecting his hotel. Both receptionists said that business continued as usual on Tuesday.
