Decision on Tower Crane Dismantling Tomorrow in Gwangju Apartment Collapse

Delay Due to Concrete Collapse and Retaining Wall Deformation During Work

Night Search to Begin by 10 PM After Completion of Gangform Work

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Jo Hyung-joo] The dismantling work of the tower crane to secure safety for the upper-level search at the collapse site of the Hwajeong I-Park new construction in Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City has been delayed once again.

Min Sung-woo, Head of Safety Management at HDC Hyundai Development Company, stated at the regular briefing on the afternoon of the 22nd, the 12th day since the accident, "The gangform (a large formwork used as a cage for scaffolding during exterior wall work) work was delayed by about three hours," adding, "During the work, concrete collapsed causing deformation in the retaining wall."

Hyundai Development Company, responsible for dismantling the tower crane, had planned to proceed in the order of dismantling the crane operator's cabin, turntable, and master at the top of the tower crane, followed by gangform work.

However, the crane operator suggested removing the gangform first, leading to a change in the work plan, during which internal concrete collapsed causing deformation in the retaining wall.

Additionally, there was concern about a tilting phenomenon occurring while removing the counterweights on the upper floors of the tower crane, so stabilization work will be conducted before resuming. This caused a delay of about three hours in the work.

According to Hyundai Development Company, if the deformation of the retaining wall exceeds the standard (4.5 cm) or any signs of danger occur during the tower crane dismantling process, the dismantling work will not proceed.

On this day, a total of three cranes were mobilized for the tower crane dismantling: two 1,200-ton mobile cranes and one crane.

The evacuation order for Kumho Highville, where all nearby residents had evacuated due to the collapse accident, was judged to be risky through an expert meeting, and the decision to lift the order will be made after safety is secured in about a week.

Rescue workers and search dogs conducted detailed re-search of debris piled up in the yard and search operations centered on the 22nd floor of the accident building.

However, the search was temporarily suspended from 12 PM due to gangform work. Night search operations are planned to continue until 10 PM once the gangform work is completed.

Due to the delay in tower crane dismantling work, emergency safety measures and stabilization work on the accident building over the weekend (22nd-23rd) are also expected to be postponed, making the detailed upper-level search slower than originally planned.

It was found that while removing the upper counterweights, the load in tons could not be supported and tilted to one side.

The accident occurred around 3:46 PM 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. They are presumed to have been responsible for window and fire-fighting equipment work on the 28th to 34th floors of the collapsed building.