Ongoing 'Retaining Wall Deformation' Occurs... Discussion on Crane Dismantling
Fire Authorities Continue Upper-Level Search with Rescue Workers and Rescue Dogs Deployed
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Cho Hyung-joo] The precision search for missing persons in the upper floors at the site of the Hwajeong I-Park collapse accident in Seo-gu, Gwangju is being delayed.
Min Sung-woo, Head of Safety Management at HDC Hyundai Development Company, held a regular briefing at the accident site on the morning of the 23rd, the 13th day since the accident occurred, stating, "We originally planned to complete the dismantling of the tower crane by the 21st, but unforeseen factors arose, and we ultimately could not finish dismantling the crane."
Min explained the delay in the dismantling work, saying, "Unexpected unstable situations have continued to occur during the upper-level work, causing the process to proceed contrary to our initial expectations."
He added, "We will verify the safety assessment to determine whether there is a reason to dismantle the crane by forcing the work."
Previously, the countermeasures headquarters planned to complete the dismantling of the 145-meter tower crane, which was tilted and posed a risk of further collapse, by the 21st.
The fire authorities are continuing the search on the upper floors of the building regardless of whether the tower crane is dismantled.
Moon Hee-jun, Chief of the Western Fire Station, explained the search situation, saying, "The 22nd floor is also a place where rescue dogs showed abnormal reactions, so rescue personnel are being deployed regardless of the completion of the tower crane dismantling."
He added that they are currently "removing obstacles on the 27th floor" and "deploying two rescue dogs to search all floors once again."
Meanwhile, on the afternoon of the 11th at 3:46 PM, the outer walls from the 23rd to the 38th floors of Building 201 collapsed at the apartment construction site.
As a result, one worker was found dead, and five people remain missing. They are presumed to have been responsible for window and fire-fighting equipment installation work on floors 28 to 34 of the collapsed building.
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