Search for Missing Persons in 'Gwangmyeong Accident' Using Lighting Vehicles for Night Work... Difficult to Enter Lower Part of Underground Tunnel

Search operations at the collapsed underground tunnel construction site of the Sinansan Line in Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi Province, resumed a day after being halted due to concerns over further collapse.

Yonhap News

According to the Gwangmyeong Fire Station on the 13th, the search operations at the Sinansan Line construction site collapse resumed from 2:10 PM that day. Earlier, at around 3:13 PM on the 11th, the underground tunnel construction site in Section 5-2 of the Sinansan Line double-track railway in Gwangmyeong-si, being constructed by POSCO E&C, collapsed, leaving 2 of the 18 workers trapped and missing.

One worker was dramatically rescued 13 hours after the accident, but one remains missing to this day.

Im Myeong-sik, head of the Fire Administration Division at Gwangmyeong Fire Station, said in a briefing at the site, "The search operation was suspended due to concerns about soil collapse caused by the rainfall the previous day, but based on the situation assessment meeting involving civil engineering and geological experts, the decision was made to resume the search operation."

Im added, "The work will begin with the removal of safety fences around the construction site, followed by securing any falling objects such as containers or excavators that pose a risk of collapse from above, depending on the afternoon weather conditions."

Im also stated that due to many hazards at the accident site, entering the lower part of the collapsed underground tunnel is difficult. The fire authorities plan to continue nighttime search operations using four lighting vehicles.