Another Victim Recovered from Gwangju Representative Library Collapse... 3 Dead, 1 Missing

On the afternoon of the 11th, nighttime rescue operations are underway at the site of the collapse accident at the Gwangju Representative Library construction site in Seo-gu, Gwangju. Photo by Yonhap News

One of the two missing persons who were trapped in the collapse accident at the Gwangju Representative Library construction site has been found dead.

According to fire authorities on December 13, at around 1:03 a.m., Ko, a 68-year-old worker, was discovered at the site of the Gwangju Representative Library collapse in Chipyeong-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju.

Ko was already deceased when found, and the fire authorities recovered his body within about 30 minutes. He was confirmed to have been working on rebar in the basement just before the accident.

With this discovery, the death toll from the collapse has risen to three.

The fire authorities had suspended the search the previous day, judging that structural stabilization was necessary, but resumed operations from midnight on this day.

During the suspension, stabilization work was carried out to prevent further collapse of the truss steel structure, including securing it with wires.

The stabilization work was originally scheduled to be completed by 6 p.m. the previous day but was delayed beyond the planned time.

This accident occurred at around 1:58 p.m. on December 11, when part of the construction site for the Representative Library collapsed at the former Sangmu Incineration Plant site in Chipyeong-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju. Four workers were trapped in the accident; three have been confirmed dead, and the whereabouts of the remaining one are still unknown.