Around 9:49 a.m. on the 25th, 4 to 5 panels that were placed on the pier fell at the construction site of the Cheongyangcheon Bridge in section 9 of the Seoul-Sejong Expressway between Cheonan and Anseong. The photo shows the scene of the accident. /Courtesy of Yonhap News Agency

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has established a task force to address the collapse incident at the construction site of Section 9 of the Sejong-Anseong Expressway.

On the 25th, the Ministry noted that Minister Park Sang-woo has been appointed as the head of the task force. The Deputy Minister, Director of the Road Bureau, and the President of the Korea Expressway Corporation moved to the site to assess the situation and manage the incident.

Minister Park said, "Above all, we must ensure the rescue of workers and prevent any further accidents due to additional collapses, and collaborate with relevant agencies (Ministry of Employment and Labor, Korean National Police Agency, National Fire Agency, Chungcheongnam-do, Cheonan City, Korea Expressway Corporation, etc.) to manage the site effectively."

On that day, a incident occurred at Section 9 of the Sejong-Anseong Expressway near Ipjang-myeon in Seobuk-gu, Cheonan, where structural elements on the bridge collapsed, causing 10 nearby workers to fall.