'Gwangju Collapse Accident' Just 10 Minutes Before, Formwork 'Thick'... Video Released Immediately Before

The top floor, 39th floor site of the apartment photographed about 10 minutes before the accident by a construction company official. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Yeeun] Attention is focused on whether the cause of the accident will be identified as a video capturing the moments just before the collapse of the newly constructed apartment by Hyundai Development Company I-Park in Seo-gu, Gwangju, has been discovered.

On the 13th, a representative from the company pouring concrete at the I-Park construction collapse site released two videos totaling about 2 minutes and 10 seconds to the media, showing the moments just before the accident.

The videos were recorded around 3:35 p.m. on the 11th, shortly before the accident occurred at approximately 3:46 p.m., when the exterior walls and other structures from the 23rd to the 38th floors of the under-construction apartment collapsed. It is presumed that the footage was taken by a site worker to report the situation to the manager.

The footage shows foreign workers pouring concrete into formwork installed on the floor of the top 39th floor amid snowy and windy weather conditions.

As the weight of the concrete increased, the formwork made a "duduk" sound, which was captured for about one second. Upon hearing the sound, a foreign worker uttered a frustrated sigh, saying "Ai..."

The video also generally shows the concrete poured over a wide area of the floor appearing to sag inward in the middle, but it has not been confirmed whether this was an abnormal sign immediately before the collapse.

However, since the video capturing the construction situation about ten minutes before the accident was found intact, it allows for a relatively detailed understanding of the construction progress and is expected to be a crucial key in determining the cause of the accident in the future.

Gwangju Seo-gu Hyundai Industrial Development I-Park New Apartment Construction Site.
Photo by Asia Economy

Meanwhile, at around 3:46 p.m. on the 11th, during concrete pouring at the Hyundai Development Company I-Park new apartment construction site in Seo-gu, Gwangju, a partial collapse of structures from the 23rd to 38th floors occurred, resulting in five workers currently missing. One missing person was found on the first basement floor, and their condition is being checked.

The police have formed an investigation headquarters to determine the cause and hold responsible parties accountable for the collapse accident. They conducted a search and seizure of three subcontractors related to concrete pouring the previous day. If access to the apartment construction site is possible, they plan to conduct a search and seizure of the site office as well.

A police official stated, "We are at the stage of starting an investigation to identify the cause and responsible parties by extensively securing testimonies and materials," adding, "After completing the search for missing persons, a joint on-site inspection will also be conducted."

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