A part of the expressway under construction suddenly collapsed in sections, causing 10 workers working at the site to be buried or fall to the ground.
At around 9:50 a.m. (local time) on February 25, a serious accident occurred at the Seoul-Sejong Expressway construction site in Anseong City, about 65km south of Seoul.
Yonhap News quoted the fire department as saying that the collapse killed 4 people and injured 6 others.
The incident occurred when a concrete structure collapsed during the bridge construction on the expressway. 10 workers fell or were buried under the rubble when 5 50m long steel structures, which were being lifted by cranes for installation, collapsed one by one.
Rescue forces were urgently present at the scene to search for the victim. At around 14:20 on the same afternoon, 1 of the 4 victims was taken out of the rubble, after which the rescue work was completed.
Images from a video released by YTN show the moment the bridge collapsed, creating a huge mass of dust. Fire and rescue forces were present at the scene to search for the missing people.
Hyundai Engineering Group - the project contractor - has apologized for this unfortunate incident. "We are actively cooperating with authorities to quickly fix the problem and investigate the cause of the accident," the company representative said.
Acting President Choi Sang-mok has directed the mobilization of all resources to search for missing people and taken safety measures to prevent similar incidents.
The exact cause of the bridge collapse has not yet been determined. Authorities have begun an investigation to find out the cause of the tragedy.
The accident raised concerns about labor safety in the Korean construction industry, which has recorded many serious incidents in recent years.
In 2022, a 39-story apartment building under construction in Gwangju collapsed, killing 6 workers. In 2020, a fire at a warehouse in Icheon also claimed 39 lives.
