Shinan-san Line Collapse Site, All-Out Search for Missing Worker

The fire department is accelerating the search operation for the missing worker in his 50s due to the collapse of the Shinan-san Line Section 5-2 in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province.

On the 12th, the fire department reported that they have secured a statement indicating that "the missing person, Mr. A (in his 50s), was in a container at the time of the accident," and they are reviewing plans to lift the container with heavy equipment.

Mr. A, a worker affiliated with POSCO E&C, is presumed to have been buried under debris after being deployed for safety inspections and reinforcement work following a report of concerns about a possible collapse in the construction area the previous day.

On the second day of the search, seven rescue dogs and heavy equipment such as a 500-ton crane were deployed at the site for the rescue operation.

A fire official stated, "We are continuing the search with the possibility that Mr. A was in the container," but added, "The exact location has not been confirmed. With strong winds and rain forecasted in the afternoon, we will do our best to complete the rescue before then."

Earlier, Mr. B (in his 20s), an excavator operator from a subcontractor who was isolated with Mr. A, was dramatically rescued by the fire department's special response team at 4:28 AM on the 12th, over 13 hours after the accident occurred.

Mr. B is currently reported to be in stable condition, and his consciousness is relatively clear.

Investigations revealed that Mr. A and others had been deployed for safety inspections and other tasks along with 15 other workers on the upper road surface above the controlled underground tunnel when the accident occurred.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that three years ago, the Board of Audit and Inspection reported that the section of the construction area where the collapse occurred had "very poor ground conditions."

According to the 'Audit Report on the State of Implementation of the Metropolitan Transportation Network Construction' released by the Board of Audit and Inspection in January 2023, it stated that "in the case of Shinan-san Line Section 5 (Sihung City Hall to Gwangmyeong), there are some fissures from the bedrock about 19 km from the tunnel starting point, and the ground condition is in grade 5, which is 'very poor,' yet the design of the tunnel does not incorporate an invert installation."

Image Source: Reference photos for understanding the article / gettyimagesbank, News1