"Clinging to Pipes in a 30cm Space"... Underground Parking Survivors Lived Thanks to Underground Pipes

Found Clinging to Sewage Pipe in Underground Parking Lot
Survived in Approximately 30cm Space Between Ceiling and Pipes

Fire and military personnel are rescuing a resident who went missing in the flooded underground parking lot of an apartment in Nam-gu, Pohang-si, Gyeongbuk, due to heavy rain from Typhoon 'Hinnamnor' on the 6th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Kim Gun-chan, Intern Reporter] Survivors trapped in the flooded underground parking lot in Pohang, Gyeongbuk, due to Typhoon 'Hinnamnor' are reported to have survived thanks to the underground pipes.

On the 6th, Lee Young-pal, head of the Gyeongbuk Fire Headquarters, explained at a briefing at the accident site, "The first survivor, a 39-year-old man, was found holding onto the sewage pipe in the underground parking lot, and the second survivor, a 52-year-old woman, was lying face down in the space above the pipes in the underground parking lot."

He continued, "The first survivor can be seen as having swum out and come out on his own feet, and the second person was lying face down, so our rescue team went and saved her."

According to the fire authorities, the height from the floor to the ceiling of the apartment underground parking lot is estimated to be about 3.5 to 4 meters. The space between the parking lot ceiling and the upper pipes such as sewage, sprinklers, and heating/cooling pipes is about 30 cm. The fire authorities speculate that the second survivor, a woman in her 50s, was lying in this space.

Lee explained, "It could be called an 'air pocket,' but it seems that there was some spare space above the pipes that allowed her to survive."

The first survivor, Mr. A (39), and the second survivor, Ms. B (52), were transported to the hospital immediately after being rescued. However, seven people, including a 70-year-old man, a 65-year-old woman, a 68-year-old man, an unidentified man and woman in their 50s, a man in his 20s, and a teenage boy, were found in cardiac arrest.

From 10 p.m. on the 6th, the fire authorities placed joint search personnel on non-motorized boats to conduct underwater searches inside the underground parking lot. Three more missing persons were found just seven minutes after the search began. All three, found in cardiac arrest, were reportedly discovered outside the 'ㄱ'-shaped ramp area near cars.

The fire authorities stated, "When the drainage rate reaches 70 to 80%, rescue personnel will be able to enter the site on foot."

Residents living in the first and second phases of the apartment complex are presumed to have gone out to move their vehicles after an announcement from the management office around 6:30 a.m. on the 6th instructing them to move cars in the underground parking lot, but were swept away as water rapidly flooded the underground parking lot, resulting in their disappearance.

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