The Nicoll Highway collapse occurred in Singapore on 20 April 2004 when a Mass Rapid Transit tunnel construction site caved in near the highway next to the Merdeka Bridge. Four workers were killed and three were injured, delaying the construction of the Circle Line. The collapse was caused by a poorly designed strut-waler support system, a lack of monitoring and proper management of data caused by human error, and organisational failures of the construction contractors and the Land Transport Authority. Following the incident, the collapsed site was refilled, and the highway was reinstated and reopened to traffic on 4 December 2004. The authorities revised their construction safety measures to be above industry standards. The Circle Line tunnels were realigned (map pictured), with Nicoll Highway station rebuilt underneath Republic Avenue, to the south of the original site. The station and tunnels opened on 17 April 2010, three years later than planned.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicoll_Highway_collapse

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1818:

Four days after the Court of King's Bench upheld an English murder suspect's right to a trial by battle in Ashford v Thornton, the plaintiff declined to fight, allowing the defendant to go free. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashford_v_Thornton

1942:

World War II: German and Italian forces began a large-scale counter-insurgency operation in occupied Yugoslavia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Trio

1968:

South African Airways Flight 228 crashed shortly after take- off from Windhoek in South West Africa, resulting in 123 deaths. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Airways_Flight_228

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

cratedigger: (music, slang) A person who habitually looks through crates of vinyl records at music shops, especially in pursuit of interesting or rare records. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cratedigger

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I have not come into this world to make men better, but to make use of their weaknesses.   --Adolf Hitler https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler