On the 11th local time, a collapse accident occurred in Gwangju City, South Korea, where the outer wall of an apartment under construction occurred, resulting in the disappearance of 6 people and 1 injury at the scene. Due to the safety hazards at the site, coupled with strong winds and other unfavorable factors, the fire and other search and rescue departments suspended the search and rescue work on the evening of the 11th; at about 11:34 a.m. local time on the 12th, the fire department put rescue personnel, search and rescue dogs, and drones with infrared detection functions into the scene to search the interior of the building. As of 19:30 on the same day, the missing persons had not been found.
The Korean Prosecutor's Office has established a joint investigation headquarters at the Gwangju District Prosecutor's Office. On the 12th, the Supreme Prosecutor's Office requested the establishment of a joint investigation headquarters centered on the Gwangju Local Prosecutor's Office, the Gwangju Local Police Agency, and the Gwangju Local Wage Labor Agency to carry out a thorough investigation.
The Gwangju Municipal Government decided on the 12th to issue an order to the contractor of the condominium project, the Modern Industrial Development Company, to stop the construction of all its projects. The Gwangju Municipal Government said it would cooperate with the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, the Police Agency and other agencies to thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident and seriously investigate the legal and administrative responsibilities of relevant personnel.
In June last year, a wall collapse accident occurred at the site of the Hōkdong demolition and construction project in Gwangju's eastern district contracted by the Modern Industrial Development Corporation, killing nine people. The Gwangju Municipal Government said that a similar tragedy occurred again 217 days after the collapse of the demolition building, which is regrettable and apologizes to the general public. The most important thing at the moment is to concentrate all administrative forces to find the 6 construction workers who are unaccounted for.
Yu Binggui, a representative of the Modern Industrial Development Corporation, said that it has consulted with relevant agencies to establish safety measures for search and rescue and to prevent additional injuries, and to ensure the necessary equipment and manpower, and will take all necessary measures in the future, while seriously participating in the investigation of the cause of the accident by the investigation agencies and government departments.
Gwangju residents expressed anger at the two major accidents at the Hyundai Industrial Development Corporation's construction site in 7 months and urged the company to take responsibility. They believe that the accident was caused by the construction unit ignoring safety and forcibly constructing in order to shorten the construction period. (Reporter Zhang Yun)
Source: CCTV News Client