A major structural collapse at a decommissioned heating plant has resulted in five workers being feared trapped beneath collapsing debris. When we visited, workers were hard at work getting ready to tear down much of the facility. In fact, demolition should start in less than ten days.
Fortunately, South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok has risen to the occasion. He ordered the home affairs ministry and emergency response agencies to deploy every piece of equipment and staff they had to work on the rescue operation. Since the collapse, emergency responders have rescued two people from the rubble and two others were pulled to safety. With five still unaccounted for, the situation has called for a quick, desperate response from search and rescue teams.
The incident was at a power plant in Ulsan, a city in the southeast that is the home of auto giant Hyundai. This region has historically been recognized for its industrial might. On the ground eyewitness accounts and scenes from the wreckage show a chaotic scene. Below, a massive steel gantry bows half folded over, creating a surreal tableau of wreckage among a dozen other such cranes.
Representatives for the Yonhap News Agency indicated a partial structural failure. It did, as they were dismantling parts of the confusing facility. A number of essential preparation steps were done in advance of the final demo job. This demolition was scheduled for just over a week and a half after the crash.
Rescue teams, national and international, are working around the clock to find and rescue anyone who remains trapped. Yet they need to make their way through dangerous rubble, often under time pressure to find a survivor. It’s a dangerous situation even still. Holding rescue workers and victims alike needs to be the top priority, and law enforcement officials are urging a safe, methodical approach right now.
