Gwangju Apartment Collapse 'Search Resumes'... 6 Rescue Dogs and Rescue Team Deployed

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Search operations for the six workers missing in the outer wall collapse accident at Hwajeong I-Park in Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City have resumed.

The fire authorities announced that at around 11:20 a.m. on the 12th, they deployed six rescue dogs and rescue teams at intervals to search for the missing persons.

Based on the safety inspection results, it was tentatively concluded that it is dangerous for rescue teams to enter the outdoor area directly, so drones are being used for inspection.

Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-seop visited the accident site and said, "I am very sorry and regretful that a tragedy occurred due to this horrific accident," adding, "I wanted to start searching for the missing persons last night, but based on expert advice, we could not deploy teams because safety was not secured."

The accident occurred at around 3:46 p.m. the previous day, when the outer walls and structures from the 23rd to the 38th floors collapsed while concrete was being poured on the rooftop of the 39-story apartment construction site.

One worker was slightly injured and is receiving treatment at a hospital, while six workers have lost contact.

After the police and fire authorities, along with the construction company and others, checked the status of all 394 workers (from 22 companies) at the site, it was found that the six missing workers’ mobile phone locations were detected near the construction site, but they have not been reachable.

It is estimated that they were performing window installation and other work on the 28th to 31st floors of the building where the outer wall and structure collapsed.

The fallen structures also crushed about ten vehicles parked nearby, burying them.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.