The scene of the collapse accident that occurred on the 11th at the Sinansan Line construction site in Iljik-dong, Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Yonhap News
Gwangmyeong City in Gyeonggi Province has issued an evacuation order to residents near the underground tunnel construction site of the Sinansan Line double-track railway collapse accident. Residents are evacuating to nearby schools and gymnasiums in accordance with the evacuation order.
On the afternoon of the 11th, at a briefing held at the accident site, Gwangmyeong Mayor Park Seung-won stated, "An evacuation order has been issued to residents of nearby apartment complexes," adding, "Residents are moving to schools and the civic gymnasium." Mayor Park also said, "The police and fire authorities are doing their best to rescue the two people in need of rescue," and "The city has established a Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters at the site to respond together."
At 5:54 PM, Gwangmyeong City sent a disaster alert message stating, "Due to the collapse of Yangdal-ro 4 road, nearby residents are requested to promptly evacuate to the following evacuation sites: Gwanghui High School, Unsan High School, Chunghyun Middle School, Chunghyun High School, Civic Gymnasium." The Gwangmyeong Fire Station also announced, "Response Level 1 has been declared, and an emergency control team is operating to conduct rescue activities," adding, "One of the two people in need of rescue has been contacted by phone, and the location of the other is still being determined, so it is unknown how long the rescue will take." The fire authorities plan to hold a second briefing around 8 PM.
Meanwhile, earlier that day at around 3:13 PM, a collapse occurred at the underground tunnel construction site of the Sinansan Line double-track railway Section 5-2, being constructed by POSCO E&C near Yangji Intersection in Iljik-dong, Gwangmyeong City, along with the road above it. As a result of this accident, one construction worker went missing, and one excavator operator became trapped underground.
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