Dislodged sprinkler pipe caused brownish water discharge at City Square Mall: Management

A sprinkler pipe in one of the basement levels of City Square Mall burst in the evening of Sept 3, sending mall patrons scurrying to avoid the dark-coloured water that sprayed from it.

Videos posted on social media platform TikTok showed customers at fast food joint KFC, located at basement one of the mall, abandoning their meals to avoid the liquid that began pooling on the floor. The liquid is also seen flowing into the underpass towards Farrer Park MRT station.

In a media reply, a spokesperson from City Square Mall said they were alerted to the incident at about 7.40pm.

"Within minutes, the operations and security teams began redirecting traffic from the affected area while the cleaning team was activated to begin clearing the affected area," said the spokesperson.

"Our operations team deployed to the area identified the source to be a dislodged sprinkler pipe, and the related pump was promptly deactivated."

The spokesperson added that the mall's operations team is working closely with relevant parties to investigate the cause of the burst pipe, and to carry out rectification works.

"Efforts are also underway to reinstate the affected units as quickly as possible to minimise disruption to our tenants' businesses," said the spokesperson.

SBS Transit spokesperson Grace Wu said in a media reply that staff from the Farrer Park station assisted passengers while its cleaners were on hand to clean and dry up the part of the passageway affected by the water from the burst pipe.

She said: "Our train service and station operations were not affected except for an escalator that was shut down as a safety precaution."

Olympic wrestling coach Ali Parvin, who was at the nearby Wingstop outlet for dinner at the time of the incident, said he had heard a loud noise "as if something dropped" and saw people running from the area.

"Within a few minutes, the shopping mall alarm went off," said Mr Parvin.

"Customers at (where I was) were confused as some did not know what was happening, because they were eating or waiting. But soon, everyone started running and taking away food. I did not get my food but managed to just grab my receipt," he said.

He then saw water flowing from the burst pipe, and noted that there was no smell - the water was just dark, said the 40-year-old.

Ms Naseeha Syed Yoosufsha, an 18-year-old polytechnic student, said she heard a siren and an announcement, and initially thought it was a fire alarm as she could not make out what was broadcast.

She then saw water spraying from the area outside the KFC outlet and flowing towards other food establishments.

"Customers near the exit managed to escape quickly, but others nearby were hiding inside shops like Wingstop, some even standing on chairs to avoid the water," she said, adding that employees from nearby food joints BakeInc and Wok Hey rushed to pack up their counters as customers scrambled to leave.

She then decided to leave the area with her family before the situation worsened.

ST has contacted KFC for more information.