Gwangju Apartment Collapse "Rescue May Take Up to a Month"

Professor Choi Myung-ki "Structural Work Starting from the Topmost Part Due to Additional Collapse Concerns"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] The search for six workers missing after the outer wall collapse accident at Hwajeong I-Park in Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City has resumed, but there is an analysis that the rescue operation could take up to a month.

According to the fire authorities on the 12th, at around 11:20 a.m., six rescue dogs and a rescue team entered the collapsed building to search for the missing persons.

Based on the safety inspection results, it was tentatively concluded that it is dangerous for the rescue team to enter outdoors directly, so the search operation is being conducted using drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras.

Due to the risk of additional collapse, the rescue operation is challenging.

Professor Choi Myung-gi of the Korea Industrial Field Professors Group met with reporters at the site and diagnosed, "There is no possibility that the entire building will collapse during the rescue operation, but there is a possibility that the already collapsed parts may collapse again."

Therefore, he predicted that "for safe rescue operations, it is necessary to go to the top rather than from below to expose the collapsed parts," and the work is expected to take at least a week and up to a month.

Regarding the possibility of the tower crane collapsing, he analyzed, "The crane is currently tilted about 20 degrees, and the middle part of the wall tie supporting it has completely fallen off," adding, "If the outer wall receives additional load, the crane may collapse as well." If the crane collapses, it is estimated that damage will occur within a radius of 140 meters.

He pointed out that the cause of the accident was insufficient concrete strength.

Professor Choi said, "The concrete should be able to withstand forces such as wind or loads from the pouring work, but it did not."

He continued, "It is normal for the water inside the concrete to dry naturally," and emphasized the need for further investigation, saying, "It seems that heating work was done artificially to harden it."

Formwork props are temporary structures designed to support the load of concrete pouring and build the structure as planned.

Professor Choi evaluated, "While formwork props often collapse, it is unusual for the structure itself to collapse." He also pointed out, "Such accidents frequently occur in developing countries, but it is unbelievable that such an accident happened in 21st-century Korea."

Meanwhile, 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 pouring concrete on the 39th-floor rooftop at an apartment construction site.

One worker was slightly injured and is receiving treatment at a hospital, while six workers are missing and out of contact.

Police and fire authorities, along with the construction company, identified the status of all 394 workers (from 22 companies) at the site, and found that the six missing workers' mobile phone locations were detected near the construction site but they could not be contacted.

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

The fallen debris also covered about ten vehicles parked nearby, burying them.

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