Search to Resume After Reinforcement of Collapsed Gwangju New Apartment at Risk of Further Collapse

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Related agencies have come together to enable the full resumption of search operations at the collapsed site of the newly constructed apartment in Gwangju, where search efforts for missing persons were halted due to concerns of further collapse.

According to the Central Accident Response Headquarters on the 30th, at around 4:30 PM the previous day, the Korea Land and Housing Safety Management Institute confirmed that cracks in the concrete slab of the 24th-floor ceiling had expanded during a safety inspection of the structure on site.

Following this, the use of heavy machinery was stopped and rescue workers conducting recovery and search activities were withdrawn.

The Central Accident Response Headquarters held an early morning situation assessment meeting on the same day to discuss the rescue strategy for those trapped on the 27th and 28th floors.

They also plan to install additional supports on the lower floors of the 24th floor and decide on the use of excavators through a meeting with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Once stabilization work is completed, 177 personnel from 17 organizations including the Central Accident Response Headquarters, 45 vehicles, 4 119 rescue dogs, and 4 drones will be deployed to commence search and rescue operations on the 20th day since the collapse accident.

From around 6:30 AM, search dogs are being deployed to safe areas to conduct exploration activities.

Hyundai Development Company is also accelerating efforts to support building safety.

The previous day, Hyundai Development installed jack supports to stabilize the structure and secured wires to fix debris on the west side.

Crack gauges were installed on the ceilings of the 24th floor (10 units) and 28th floor (3 units) for measurement management, and to stabilize the exterior wall, H-steel beams were fixed to the southern retaining wall on the 38th floor.

The additional dismantling of the tower crane has been completed, and installation of the hoist and H-steel beams is planned to be finished within the day, with wire installation on the west side debris scheduled to be completed by the 31st.

Meanwhile, after rescue workers withdrew and search operations were suspended the previous day, families of the victims climbed the building themselves, expressing their intention to find the missing persons directly.

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