On the 16th, a 200-ton class tugboat towing a marine crane collided head-on with the Geoje-Geoga Bridge near Geoje City, Gyeongnam.
The impact from the collision with the 54-meter-high, 1000-ton class marine crane caused a worker and a vehicle on the bridge to fall into the sea, and the tugboat veered off course and collided with a nearby fishing boat.
This was part of the first 2024 disaster preparedness drill conducted by Changwon Coast Guard in cooperation with the South Sea Regional Maritime Police Agency, Navy Jinhae Base Command, Masan Fire Station, Changwon City and Busan City, Masan Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office, GK Marine Road, Korea Marine Rescue Association, private marine rescue drone search teams, and private fishing boats.
A rescue worker is descending from the helicopter toward the person in need of help. [Photo by Lee Seryeong]
"All dispatched vessels and aviation units, proceed immediately toward the Geoje-Geoga Bridge!"
Urgent rescue requests reporting "people have fallen into the sea" were continuously followed by situation explanations and action orders over the disaster communication network radios.
The persons requiring rescue included 10 people: workers and a driver who fell from the bridge, and 8 people who fell from the fishing boat. Additionally, the crew aboard both vessels needed to evacuate for safety.
A helicopter conducting the search lowered a long rope to rescue people who had fallen into the sea, and rescue vessels dispatched to the accident site divided into seven zones to carry out rescue operations. Vehicle traffic on the Geoje-Geoga Bridge was also controlled.
The Changwon Coast Guard rescue team is using a motorized surfboard to rescue a person in need. [Photo by Lee Seryeong]
In relatively shallow areas where rescue vessels could not approach, powered surfboards were used to rescue the persons in distress and transfer them to the vessels.
To extinguish the fire on the tugboat, multiple vessels sprayed water, and a fishing boat at risk of sinking due to hull damage was patched and guided to a nearby port.
The rescued individuals were transported to nearby ports and handed over to the 119 rescue teams.
Chief Chaekwang Cheol of Namhae Coast Guard and Chief Kim Young Cheol of Changwon Coast Guard Station are discussing the training situation on the command ship. [Photo by Changwon Coast Guard Station]
Nam Gwang-cheol, Chief of the South Sea Coast Guard, and Kim Young-cheol, Chief of Changwon Coast Guard Station, boarded the command vessel to oversee the drill and provide guidance, leading the exercise.
The Geoje-Geoga Bridge is a marine bridge connecting Jangmok-myeon in Geoje City and Gangseo-gu in Busan. In February, a 1000-ton class marine crane actually collided with it, and in 2019, a 1000-ton class barge also collided there.
On this day, Changwon Coast Guard and others simulated the actual accident at the Geoje-Geoga Bridge and the container ship collision with a pier in Baltimore, USA, last March, conducting the drill as realistically as possible.
The drill involved 15 vessels, 2 aircraft, 1 drone, and 2 vehicles.
Do Young-jin, Head of the Changwon Coast Guard's Security and Rescue Division, said, "This drill is a legally mandated annual exercise involving civilians, government, and military to protect lives, bodies, and property in water-related distress accidents. Before departure, it is essential to check the height of bridges to be passed and exchange information with the Maritime Traffic Control Center to assess risks."
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