Told His Family About His Survival Right After the Fall
Impact Believed to Be Lessened by Landing on a Hillside Soil Pile
Amid the Seoul-Sejong Expressway Cheongryongcheon Bridge collapse accident that resulted in 10 casualties, it has been reported that a man in his 60s who fell dozens of meters below the accident site survived miraculously. Despite the major accident, he is known to be in relatively good physical condition and reportedly told his family, "Heaven helped me."
On the 25th, at the construction site of Cheonyongcheon Bridge in Section 9 of the Cheonan-Anseong segment of the Seoul-Sejong Expressway located in Sanpyeong-ri, Seoun-myeon, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi Province, an accident occurred where the deck placed on the pier collapsed during bridge connection work. The photo shows the accident site. Photo by Yonhap News
According to a report by Yonhap News on the 26th, a Chinese national worker, Mr. A (62), fell along with a concrete deck structure at the construction site of the Cheongryongcheon Bridge in Section 9 of the Cheonan~Anseong segment of the Seoul-Sejong Expressway in Sanpyeong-ri, Seoun-myeon, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi Province, the previous day. Initially classified as a minor injury with abrasions and bruises on his face, he underwent surgery for an orbital fracture at a university hospital in Hwaseong City on the same day and is currently recovering.
Mr. A is currently having difficulty moving, but despite the major accident, he is reported to be in relatively good physical condition. Immediately after the accident, Mr. A reportedly told his family, "I think I fell about 30 meters down," and "Heaven helped me." Meanwhile, five other workers besides Mr. A were seriously injured and are receiving treatment in intensive care units.
At the time of the accident, Mr. A was understood to be working on moving the launcher (a large piece of equipment used to lift and install girders) backward, which was installed on the girder (a beam-like structure) of the bridge deck. It has not been precisely investigated where Mr. A was located, but it is reported that he was near the launcher when the girder collapsed in a V shape, causing him to fall along with it.
The height of the bridge where the accident occurred is up to 52 meters. However, it is estimated that Mr. A received relatively less impact than other workers because he fell onto a pile of soil on a nearby hillside close to the fall point.
The accident occurred at 9:49 a.m. on the 25th at the construction site of the Cheongryongcheon Bridge in Section 9 of the Cheonan~Anseong segment of the Seoul-Sejong Expressway in Sanpyeong-ri, Seoun-myeon, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi Province. As the bridge deck structure collapsed, 10 people working on the bridge fell, resulting in 4 deaths and 5 serious injuries. The police have secured CCTV footage from the site and have launched an investigation.
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