On Nov. 11, the construction site near Iljik-dong, Gwangmyeong, collapses and the accident scene is controlled. /Courtesy of News1
On Nov. 11, the construction site near Iljik-dong, Gwangmyeong, collapses and the accident scene is controlled. /Courtesy of News1

At the construction site of the Sinansan Line underground tunnel in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, the central column (support) of the collapsed tunnel has been reported to be damaged.

On the 12th, the office of the Democratic Party's Moon Jin-seok, a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, obtained the initial situation report from the construction consortium POSCO Engineering & Construction and NextTrain through the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which stated, 'The central column of the 2arch tunnel was damaged at 9:50 p.m. on April 10.'

Initially, it was only reported that there was a crack in the central column. However, it has been revealed that the construction officials on site had noticed abnormal signs, and the risk of collapse was already significant at that time.

Photos attached to the report show several concrete columns supporting the central part of the arch-shaped tunnel, which appear to be damaged. After recognizing the damaged columns, the construction officials evacuated all 17 workers and stopped the work, but reported it to the local government of Gwangmyeong only around midnight.

On site, reinforcement work and safety inspection were underway since 7 a.m. the previous day. Around 3:13 p.m. on the same day, while work was ongoing, the underground tunnel and the upper road collapsed together, causing two workers to become isolated and missing. This occurred about 17 hours after the abnormal conditions were detected on the columns.

The 20s excavator operator who was isolated was rescued around 4:31 a.m. that day. However, the whereabouts and life status of a worker in his 50s belonging to POSCO Engineering & Construction have not been confirmed more than 28 hours after the collapse.

Currently, due to rain at the accident site, the fire authorities have temporarily suspended search operations in the collapsed lower space due to the risk of further collapse.