Thirteen injured after Orchard Road lorry-car crash, including 12 migrant workers on lorry
Thirteen people, including 12 migrant workers, were taken to hospital after a lorry and car collided at Orchard Road on 28 January 2026, reigniting debate over the safety of transporting workers on lorries.
- Thirteen people were taken to hospital after a collision involving a lorry and a car in Orchard Road on 28 January 2026.
- Twelve of those hospitalised were migrant workers travelling as passengers on the lorry.
- The incident has renewed scrutiny over the continued practice of transporting workers on the back of lorries in Singapore.
SINGAPORE: Thirteen people were taken to hospital following an accident involving a lorry and a car in Orchard Road in the early morning of 28 January 2026.
Twelve of those hospitalised were migrant workers who were passengers on the lorry, while the remaining casualty was the driver of the car, according to the police.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it was alerted to the accident at about 6.20am at the junction of Orchard Road and Orchard Link.
Paramedics conveyed six people to Tan Tock Seng Hospital and seven to Singapore General Hospital. Another five people were assessed at the scene for minor injuries but declined hospital treatment.
Police told local media that they were alerted to the collision at about 6.15am. The accident involved a lorry and a car, and investigations are ongoing.
All 13 people taken to hospital were conscious. They comprised a 64-year-old male car driver and 12 male lorry passengers aged between 30 and 51. The lorry passengers were foreign workers, the police said.
Police said investigations into the Orchard Road accident are ongoing.
A video circulating on TikTok showed police vehicles at the junction near Orchard Link, close to the adidas Brand Centre at Pullman Singapore Orchard, opposite Ngee Ann City.
In the footage, several migrant workers could be seen resting along the pavement, with some lying on the ground while police officers and SCDF personnel attended to them.
The video also showed both the lorry and the car on the pavement. The front bumpers of both vehicles appeared damaged, and a public bench had been knocked over.
Long-standing safety concerns
The accident has once again drawn attention to the longstanding debate over the transportation of migrant workers on the back of lorries.
While the practice remains legal in Singapore, it has faced sustained public scrutiny due to recurring accidents and safety concerns.
Between 2020 and 2024, an average of 161 workers were injured each year while being transported on lorries, according to figures cited by civil society groups.
In 2023, more than 50 community organisations signed a joint statement criticising the continued use of lorries to ferry workers.
The groups argued that lorries were not designed to carry human passengers and exposed workers to risks including heat stress, heavy rain and severe injuries in traffic accidents.
They highlighted that between 2011 and 2020, a total of 58 workers died and 4,765 were injured in lorry-related accidents.
The signatories called for safer alternatives, including shared buses, minibuses and goods-cum-passenger vehicles, to replace open-deck lorries.
Transport Ministry says economic impact of lorry worker transport ban is hard to quantify
The issue was raised in Parliament in a written reply on 23 September 2025 by Acting Minister for Transport Jeffrey Siow.
The parliamentary question, posed by Sengkang Member of Parliament He Ting Ru, asked whether the Ministry of Transport (MOT) had studied the impact of banning the transport of workers on the backs of lorries.
Siow said that the ministry had conducted some studies but found it difficult to quantify the full economic impact of such a ban.
He explained that the effects would be both direct and indirect, with several factors proving impossible to measure accurately.
For example, shifting all workers to buses would require a significantly larger pool of drivers, a sector already facing manpower shortages.
Siow noted that challenges persisted in hiring and retaining drivers, even within the public bus industry, despite multiple wage adjustments.
“The crux of the matter is to improve the safety of transportation for our workers,” he said.
He added that the ministry would continue working with industry associations and tripartite partners to review and improve transport safety standards.
According to Siow, government agencies have introduced several measures over the years in collaboration with tripartite partners and non-governmental organisations.
These measures include requirements for lorries to be fitted with canopies, higher protective side railings, lower speed limits and minimum space requirements for passengers.
