S Korea worker found dead days after metro construction site collapse

SEOUL - A South Korean worker was found dead on April 16 at the site of a new metro line which collapsed last week near the capital Seoul, officials said.

Rescuers struggled to locate the man in his 50s after the accident in the city of Gwangmyeong, south-west of the capital, on April 11.

“The (body of the) missing person was recovered around 8.11pm” and was being transported to hospital, Mr Hong Geon-pyo from Gwangmyeong Fire Station told journalists.

“I extend my condolences to the bereaved family,” Gwangmyeong Mayor Park Seung-won said.

A second trapped worker was rescued around 13 hours after the incident, which the authorities said happened during “tunnel reinforcement work”.

The construction site was part of an underground transit project connecting Seoul’s Yeouido district to Ansan and Siheung in Gyeonggi province.

The collapse had prompted the city authorities to temporarily evacuate around 2,300 residents living nearby due to concerns about additional damage.

The incident came just weeks after one person was killed when a massive sinkhole opened up in Seoul.

The sinkhole accident took place at a site where extension work for a different metro line was underway. AFP

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