Tunnel Collapse at Gwangmyeong Sinansan Line Construction Site... Excavator Operator Missing (Update)

Cracks Found in Tunnel Pillars... Collapse Occurs During Safety Inspection
Two Workers on Deck at Time of Accident... One Trapped, One Missing

A collapse accident occurred at the Sinansan Line construction site in Iljik-dong, Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi Province. One excavator operator is missing, and another is confirmed to be trapped underground.

According to the Fire Agency and Gwangmyeong Police Station in Gyeonggi on the 11th, the collapse accident occurred around 3:13 PM near Yangji Intersection in Gwangmyeong at the Sinansan Line double-track railway Section 5-2 tunnel construction site.

The site of the Shinansan Line construction in Iljik-dong, Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi Province, where a tunnel collapse accident occurred on the 11th. Photo by Yonhap News

Immediately after the accident, among the 17 workers at the site, 5 who were conducting safety inspections above the road temporarily lost contact. Subsequently, 3 were confirmed safe, 1 was contacted but found to be trapped underground. One excavator operator remains missing.

As the underground space collapsed, part of the road above and nearby commercial facilities also fell. No additional casualties have been confirmed.

Earlier that day, around 12:30 AM, a report was received that multiple cracks had appeared on the central pillars (supports) inside the underground tunnel being constructed with a '2arch' structure at the site. As a result, vehicle and pedestrian traffic on the 1 km stretch of the 6-lane road, Orio, from Gwangmyeong Yangji Intersection to Anyang Hohyeon Samgeori, was completely restricted. Officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the construction company POSCO Engineering & Construction, and others were conducting safety inspections and reinforcement work to analyze the cause of the cracks both underground and above ground at the construction site.