Excavator Operator from Subcontractor Dies
"Plan to Further Investigate Cause of Accident"
A 50-year-old excavator operator died in an accident while demolishing an apartment in Geomdan New Town, Incheon, where the underground parking lot collapsed during new construction last year.
The site of the underground parking lot collapse accident at an apartment complex in Geomdan New Town, Incheon. Yonhap News
According to the Incheon Police Agency's Criminal Mobile Unit and the Incheon Fire Department on the 19th, at around 9:24 a.m., a small excavator fell backward on the 17th-floor staircase of an apartment in Wondang-dong, Seo-gu.
As a result of the accident, the excavator operator, Mr. A, in his 50s, was trapped between the wall and the excavator. He was transported to the hospital by the 119 emergency medical team in a state of cardiac arrest but died an hour later.
The apartment, ordered by Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) and constructed by GS Construction, was the site of an underground parking lot collapse accident last April due to missing rebar. On this day, demolition work for reconstruction was underway.
The police estimated that the small excavator lost its center of gravity and toppled while trying to move from the 17th to the 18th floor via the apartment's emergency staircase.
A police official stated, "We plan to further investigate the cause of the accident by interviewing witnesses and construction site personnel." The employment authorities also intend to verify whether the construction workers properly followed safety regulations during the demolition work.
An official from the Central Regional Employment and Labor Office said, "It is presumed that the deceased Mr. A belonged to a subcontractor," adding, "Since GS Construction, the primary contractor, has more than five regular employees, we plan to apply the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and conduct an investigation."
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