Wire Reinforcement Work Underway... Advisory Group to Reach Final Conclusion on Dismantling Method Within the Day

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] The search of the upper floors of Hwajeong I-Park in Seo-gu, Gwangju, where the exterior walls have collapsed, remains uncertain.

For the search and rescue operations to gain momentum, the tower crane (height 145m) leaning towards the apartment, posing a risk of further collapse, must be dismantled first. However, this work is currently progressing slowly.

The authorities initially set the completion date for the tower crane dismantling as the 17th, but it was postponed to the 21st for safety reasons. Even this date is not guaranteed.

On the 8th day after the accident, the Gwangju Seo-gu Emergency Rescue Control Team (Chief Moon Hee-jun of the Western Fire Station) and Hyundai Development Company reported that reinforcement work is underway to secure the tower crane with wires from multiple directions to prevent it from falling.

This is because a panel of 12 building structure and safety inspection experts judged the tower crane's condition to be very dangerous the previous day.

The advisory panel plans to hold a second meeting at 1 p.m. that day to reach a final conclusion on the dismantling method and review its stability.

The first mobile crane (height 120m) for dismantling has been assembled, and the second crane of the same size is expected to be completed by the evening.

Rescue workers are attempting to enter some flat high-floor points and conduct searches using endoscopic cameras, but it is difficult to approach due to debris and cliffs.

Removal of debris from the upper floors will begin tomorrow, and removal of debris around the tower crane will resume today.

The fire authorities plan to establish a forward command post in a safe location below the 22nd floor in preparation for full-scale upper floor searches. The command post will be used for various rescue equipment and personnel to stand by.

Two days ago, the search was temporarily halted when fist-sized stones fell from the 23rd floor, and on this day, a protective net to prevent falling objects was installed on the 19th floor.

Another risk factor is the apartment retaining wall. For safety management, an automated measurement management system has been installed with 15 measurement points outside the retaining wall and 20 points inside.

The measurement standard was set by the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology at 32mm plus 23mm. If it deviates from the plus-minus 45mm standard, the work situation will be reconsidered.

Experts differ on the possibility of additional collapse of the retaining wall. The majority opinion of the advisory panel is that it is 'safe,' while a minority considers it 'dangerous.'

Therefore, an additional emergency safety inspection is planned, but the results have not yet been confirmed.

The search operation resumed at 7:30 a.m. that day but yielded no significant results.

It was reported that the only development was a slight reaction again detected by rescue dogs between the 22nd and 28th floors, where they had previously responded.

A fire official stated, "We will conduct one more search in the afternoon at the point where the rescue dogs showed a reaction, and the ground floor search is expected to be completed today."

At the site, 206 rescue personnel, 8 rescue dogs, and 49 pieces of advanced equipment including endoscopic cameras, thermal imaging cameras, and drones have been deployed.

The accident occurred around 3:46 p.m. on the 11th at the apartment construction site when the exterior walls of the 201 building from the 23rd to 38th floors collapsed.

As a result, one worker died and five went missing. It is presumed that they were responsible for window and fire protection equipment work on the 28th to 34th floors of the collapsed building.