'Day 5 of Search' Focus on Locations of 5 Missing Persons... Expecting Rescue Dogs' Efforts

Unusual Reactions Occurring More Than Twice on the 22nd, 25th, 26th, and 28th Floors

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Attention is focused on the burial locations of the five missing workers in the collapse accident at Hwajeong I-Park in Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City.

A point where rescue dogs repeatedly circled a specific location and showed unusual reactions could serve as a clue.

According to the fire authorities on the 15th, the key to discovering one missing person on the 13th was also a 'rescue dog.' The protagonists were 'Sobaeck,' a 7-year-old male retriever, and 'Hangyeol,' a 3-year-old male German Shepherd, both belonging to the Central 119 Rescue Headquarters. Their hearing is 50 times better than humans, and their sense of smell is 10,000 times superior.

At around 11:10 a.m. that day, near the stair railing on the basement first floor, they barked loudly with their noses pressed to the ground. Following the rescue dogs' reactions, two trainers approached closely and saw something that appeared to be part of a human body. It was buried in concrete sand but turned out to be a human fingertip.

On the second day of the search, the 12th, six rescue dogs were deployed and showed weak reactions on the 26th to 28th floors of the collapsed building.

On the third day of the search, eight dogs were deployed and showed reactions on the 22nd, 25th, and 28th floors; on the fourth day, they reacted on the 22nd, 25th, 26th, and 28th floors, prompting firefighters to conduct focused searches.

On the fifth day of the search, a total of 23 dogs were mobilized, with eight dogs deployed in shifts, and the rescue dogs showed reactions on the 25th floor.

The floors where unusual reactions were observed more than twice so far are the 22nd, 25th, 26th, and 28th floors.

Moon Hee-jun, head of the Seo-gu Emergency Rescue Control Team (Chief of Gwangju Western Fire Station), explained, "We cannot be certain that there are missing persons just because there was a reaction," adding, "Since the scent remains after rescue workers conduct searches, there may be confusion in detection."

Currently, 211 rescue workers, 42 pieces of equipment, and eight rescue dogs have been deployed for the search.

The accident occurred at around 3:46 p.m. on the 11th, when the outer wall of the 201 building from the 23rd to 38th floors collapsed, resulting in one worker's death and five workers missing.

It is estimated that they were responsible for window and fire-fighting equipment work on the 28th to 34th floors of the collapsed building.

Meanwhile, according to the Fire Agency, currently, 34 119 rescue dogs are active across 12 fire agencies nationwide. As of 2020, 119 rescue dogs have been dispatched a total of 662 times, rescuing 37 people (17 survivors and 20 deceased).

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