A tragic subway site collapse in Gwangmyeong has claimed the life of one missing worker, according to local authorities.
Fire officials discovered the laborer’s body 21 meters underground on Wednesday at 8:03 p.m. They completed the retrieval process by 8:11 p.m., ending a tense and challenging search.
The missing man had been near a shipping container used by workers as a temporary shelter. Authorities had focused their search in that area, expecting to locate him nearby.
“There was a lot of soil, and the recovery process was difficult,” said an official from Gwangmyeong Fire Station during a press conference. “The container was not intact when the laborer was found,” he added.
The subway site collapse occurred last Friday during construction work on the Sinansan Line. The accident caused part of the road above to cave in, triggering immediate rescue efforts.
At the time of the collapse, 19 workers were present at the site. Seventeen workers managed to evacuate safely. One trapped worker was rescued early Saturday morning, after being stuck underground for about 13 hours.
However, one worker remained unaccounted for until authorities confirmed his death on Wednesday night.
Since the incident, emergency personnel have worked tirelessly to clear debris and locate the missing laborer. Despite the complexity of the underground terrain, the team remained committed to the search.
This subway site collapse has raised serious concerns about safety procedures at major construction zones. Local authorities have now begun investigating the cause of the collapse and the overall safety management at the site.
Officials say future projects must implement stronger safety checks to avoid another subway site collapse.
The city and fire department expressed condolences to the victim’s family and pledged full transparency during the investigation.
The tragedy has highlighted the dangers construction workers face and the urgent need for stricter regulations.
