Second Day of Gwangmyeong Tunnel Construction Collapse... 1 Rescued, 1 Missing

Search for Missing Worker Continues
Strong Wind Advisory in the Afternoon May Affect Rescue Operations

A worker in his 20s was trapped for over 10 hours and then rescued at the underground tunnel construction site of the Sinansan Line in Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi Province, where a collapse accident occurred. Another worker remains missing, so the police and fire authorities are continuing search operations.

According to the police and fire authorities on the 12th, excavator operator Mr. A was trapped about 30 meters underground due to the collapse accident that occurred at 3:13 p.m. the previous day. After an overnight rescue operation, he was safely pulled out from the debris around 4:27 a.m. on the 12th, about 13 hours later.

Gyeonggi Gwangmyeong Sinansan Line construction site underground collapse accident scene. Photo by Yonhap News

Mr. A is reported to be in a condition not life-threatening. However, since he was trapped under debris for a long time, he was transferred to a hospital for detailed examination.

Rescue workers located Mr. A’s position, with whom they were able to communicate by phone from the early stages of the entrapment, and approached close enough to hear his voice. However, due to the nature of the collapse site, heavy equipment could not be deployed, causing delays in the rescue.

The accident occurred when the underground tunnel construction site and the road above it collapsed near Yangjisa Intersection in Iljik-dong, Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi Province, at the Sinansan Line double-track railway Section 5-2, which is being constructed by POSCO E&C.

Initially, contact was lost with 5 out of 18 workers, but 3 of them were subsequently confirmed safe. Among the remaining 2, Mr. A, who was rescued, belongs to a subcontractor, while Mr. B, a worker in his 50s from POSCO E&C, is still missing. Search operations continue on the second day after the accident.

The police and fire authorities are using techniques such as mobile phone location tracking to determine the whereabouts of the missing worker.

Based on testimonies from workers who were working with Mr. B at the time, the rescue authorities believe Mr. B is inside a container. They plan to use cranes and other heavy equipment to lift the container.

However, a strong wind advisory is currently in effect in the metropolitan area, and rain accompanied by strong winds is expected from the afternoon, which is likely to hinder rescue operations.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has formed an accident response headquarters, and Next Train, the private investor and operator of the Sinansan Line project, has also established an accident management headquarters at the site. The Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency has started a preliminary investigation into the cause of the accident, led by the criminal division.