Four workers were killed and five others were injured when a bridge collapsed during the construction of an motorway in Cheonan, South Korean media reported on Tuesday.
According to the media, the incident occurred at about 9:49 a.m. on the Seoul-Sejong section of the motorway. During installation work, workers were using a crane to move a steel structure made up of several iron girders that secured the upper part of the bridge.
Eight workers were at the scene. Tragically, four of them died and five were injured. South Korea’s National Fire Agency has ordered the deployment of firefighting units to the site of the disaster for rescue operations and to search for possible missing persons.
Acting South Korean President Choi Sang-mok gave emergency orders to use all available resources and personnel to organise a rescue mission. The 134-kilometre-long Seoul-Sejong Expressway is divided into two main sections.
The first section, located in the capital region (Anseong-Kuri, 72 kilometres), was put into operation on January 1 this year. The second section, Sejong-Anson (62 kilometres), is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026.
