A view of the collapse of the underground rail construction site in Gwangmyeong, South Korea, April 11, 2025. -- Yonhap/via REUTERS
SEOUL, South Korea (AP): South Korean rescue workers on Saturday pulled a man from a collapsed subway construction site near the capital of Seoul and continued searching for another believed to be trapped inside.
Im Gwang-sik, an official with Gwangmyeong city’s fire department, said the survivor was trapped about 30 meters (98 feet) underground in the rubble for approximately 13 hours, and was conscious when found and taken to a nearby hospital.
Gwangmyeong city authorities had earlier withdrawn workers from the construction site and halted traffic in the area after receiving reports that a ventilation shaft was at risk of collapsing.
Authorities were deploying dozens of rescue workers and vehicles and three cranes to search for the other worker who remains unaccounted for.
Police said they would keep the road closed until the reinforcement work is finished and the site is deemed to be safe.
The incident comes just weeks after one person was killed when a massive sinkhole opened up in Seoul.
The sinkhole accident took place at a site where extension work for a different metro line was underway. - AP
