A large-scale power outage in the Incheon Yeongjong Sky City area caused inconvenience for about 2,000 households, including apartments and commercial units. Reports that people were trapped in elevators followed one after another, and at some intersections, traffic lights went out, prompting police to direct traffic by hand signals.
According to Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and the Incheon Fire Headquarters, at about 5:16 p.m. on the 13th, power supply was cut off in Jung-san-dong, Yeongjong District, Incheon, and the Yeongjong Sky City area.
About 2,000 households, including apartments, dwellings, and commercial units, were found to have been affected by the outage. On some roads, traffic lights stopped working, and police were deployed to the scene to manage vehicle traffic.
As of 6:20 p.m., fire authorities had received a total of 25 outage-related reports, including 13 about people trapped in elevators.
Fire authorities dispatched about 50 firefighters and 20 pieces of equipment to the scene to open elevator doors and carry out rescues and safety measures.
A fire official said, "Field response is ongoing, so the number of people trapped in elevators has not been determined."
The Korea Electric Power Corporation Incheon Headquarters believes the outage was caused by a transmission line equipment failure and is conducting restoration work.
KEPCO advised via emergency text, "Restoration work is currently underway," adding, "Residents should turn off all electrical appliances and use flashlights, and be mindful of safety accidents."
KEPCO said the fire that broke out at about 11:06 p.m. on the previous day on an underground transmission line near Yeongjong Bridge is unrelated to the current outage.
A KEPCO official said, "We are checking the site where the line failure occurred and carrying out power recovery measures," adding, "Because the cause of the failure has not yet been identified, we do not know when restoration will be completed."