At least four construction workers were killed and six injured when a piece of elevated highway collapsed on Tuesday in South Korea. At least five of those injured were in serious condition at a local hospital.
Officials said that two of the deceased where Chinese nationals, and two were South Korean. One of the wounded workers is also Chinese.
The bridge in Anseong, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) south of the capital Seoul, was still being built when the 50-meter long beams holding it up crashed to the ground.
Main contractor offers apologies
Local fire official Ko Kyung-man told a televised press conference that "They were working to install a deck on the bridge. All of the 10 were up on the deck...and fell from both sides when it collapsed."
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HORROR bridge collapse leaves casualties in South Korea - fire officials confirm EIGHT construction workers buried beneath the rubble, rescue workers attempting to save them pic.twitter.com/5MdYDZyZ7p
Authorities said that the cause of the incident could not immediately be determined.
Hyundai Engineering, the lead contractor for the construction project, issued a statement saying: "We sincerely bow our heads in apology to those who lost their precious lives and were injured in the accident at our construction site..We are actively cooperating with the relevant authorities to ensure a prompt resolution on-site"
Rampant workplace safety issues
Acting President Choi Sang-mok told relevant agencies to mobilize all available personnel and equipment to the site of the collapse. Later, the National Fire Agency said it had sent 150 emergency workers to the scene, while the Transport Ministry said it had also dispatched several officials.
According to South Korea's Labor Ministry, between the years of 2020 and 2023, at least 8,000 people died in work-related deaths. Legislation was enacted in 2022 to try and address widespread safety issues, but fatalities have persisted. Earlier in February, six people died on a hotel construction site in the coastal city of Busan.