Background
Although frequently referred to as the Hotel New World disaster, the building in question was actually known as the Lian Yak building (联谊大厦), a six-storey building with a basement garage and built in 1971. The Hotel New World, previously known as the New Serangoon Hotel until 1984, was the main tenant occupying the top three floors, and a branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank (now merged with United Overseas Bank) took up the ground level. A nightclub, Universal Neptune Nite-Club and Restaurant, was also situated on the second level of the building at the time of the collapse. The building had previously experienced a poisonous gas leak (which was caused by carbon monoxide) in some of the hotel rooms, first hitting the headlines on 30 August 1975, the day after the poisonous gas leak was reported.
Read more about this topic: Hotel New World Disaster
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