New CNA TV series relives major Singapore disasters

ABU member Channel NewsAsia (CNA) is launching a documentary series, Days of Disaster, about dramatic events that affected Singapore in the latter half of the Twentieth Century.

Shot in high definition with dramatic-reconstructions and computer-generated effects, CNA says the five-part series “brings to life catastrophic events that pushed Singapore’s transformation from a struggling new nation to the stable First World power it is today”.

With exclusive interviews with key eyewitnesses and people involved, the series charts the chain of events leading up to the disasters, with minute-by-minute examination of the central crises and the aftermath. The producers say many of the details are being told publicly for the first time.

The hour-long episodes cover events from the Bukit Ho Swee fires in 1961 that made 16,000 squatters homeless and prompted major home building projects to the the hijack of Singapore Airlines Flight SQ117 in 1991, which ended when Singapore Armed Forces commandoes stormed the plane, killing the four hijackers to release all the hostages alive. 

Other episodes cover the explosion of the Greek tanker, S.T. Spyros, in Jurong shipyard in

1978, the Hotel New World collapse in 1986 and several severe floods and droughts that hit Singapore.

The series will be shown on Channel NewsAsia from 2 February 2015 and will be available as video-on-demand from the website a week after the television broadcast of each episode.