Request to Establish a 'Central Countermeasures Headquarters' by the Government for Searching Missing Persons in the Gwangju Apartment Collapse

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Gwangju City has requested the government to establish a 'Central Accident Response Headquarters' at the site of the Hwajeong-dong new apartment collapse accident for swift recovery.

On the 19th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, announced that he requested the installation of the 'Central Accident Response Headquarters' to enable early accident response, including missing persons search and rescue and damage recovery, through situation sharing and a real-time cooperation system.

The government is reportedly reviewing the request.

This accident occurred in a densely populated urban area involving the collapse of a high-rise building. Experts analyze that the accident site has a very high risk of further collapse and requires advanced expertise and cutting-edge equipment for missing persons rescue and recovery, making it an unprecedentedly difficult accident site.

Various risk factors are scattered, causing significant difficulties in life rescue and site recovery. For rapid search, rescue, and handling of the collapsed building, continuous support from the government in terms of top-level rescue experts and state-of-the-art equipment is necessary.

Additionally, if there is further collapse of the building during the search, rescue, and recovery process, unpredictable human and material damage is expected.

The mayor stated, “We will actively accept the results of the expert advisory meeting and proceed with thorough safety measures at the accident site along with search and rescue operations,” adding, “We will conduct the search and rescue operations for missing persons while ensuring the maximum safety of rescue workers and operators.”

He continued, “Yesterday, the Fire Headquarters established an advanced command post on the 20th floor indoors and is conducting missing persons search operations on the upper floors,” and said, “Once the three safety measures proposed by the advisory group are in place, we plan to intensify search and rescue operations throughout the upper floors and near the tower crane.”

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