One in Cardiac Arrest, One Missing Inside Incheon Manhole; Suspected Toxic Gas Involved

The police have launched an investigation after a company representative and an employee lost consciousness or went missing while inspecting underground sewage and wastewater pipelines inside a manhole on a road in Incheon.

According to Incheon Gyeyang Police Station and fire authorities, at around 9:22 a.m. on July 6, a report was received by emergency services stating that "two people have collapsed inside a road manhole" in Byeongbangdong, Gyeyang District.

Twenty minutes after receiving the report, fire authorities rescued A (48), the representative of a sewage and wastewater pipeline inspection and management company, from underground inside the manhole in a state of cardiac arrest. He was transported to the hospital while receiving emergency treatment, including CPR.

B (52), an employee of A's company who was also inspecting the condition of the sewage and wastewater pipelines inside the manhole, is missing. Fire authorities and police are conducting a search operation.

One Worker in Cardiac Arrest and One Missing in Incheon Manhole Incident

(Incheon=Yonhap News) Reporter Soonseok Lim = On the 6th, a man in his 40s was rescued in cardiac arrest, and a man in his 50s went missing near a manhole in Byeongbangdong, Gyeyang District, Incheon. A hat and work tools were placed beside the manhole. 2025.7.6

Photo by Soonseok Lim

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According to the investigation, A's company was subcontracted for the "Manhole GIS (Geographic Information System) Database Construction Project" commissioned by the Incheon Environmental Corporation.

The police and fire authorities believe that A and others may have suffocated due to exposure to toxic gases such as hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide in the underground pipelines, and plan to investigate the specific circumstances of the accident.

Fire authorities believe it is highly likely that the missing employee, B, was swept away by the current in the sewage and wastewater pipeline, and are conducting search operations using special rescue teams and underwater drones to search the pipelines and sewage treatment facilities.

The current in the sewage and wastewater pipelines is not strong, and the water depth is reported to be around 50 centimeters.

Kim Manjong, head of the field response team at Gyeyang Fire Station, explained, "The diameter of the underground manhole is about 670 millimeters, which is quite narrow, so rescuers can barely enter with their equipment. Because of these difficulties, it is taking time to locate the missing person."