2,300 residents of Gwangmyeong evacuated after tunnel collapse

Some 2,300 residents of Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi, have been evacuated after a tunnel construction site collapsed on Friday afternoon, while authorities carefully assess the recovery measures ahead of rains forecast for the weekend.

“We evacuated around 2,300 residents from 642 units at the Prugio Apartment complex to eight locations, including the citizens’ gymnasium, as a precaution against secondary damage,” said Hong Geon-pyo, head of fire prevention at Gwangmyeong Fire Station, during a briefing at the scene.

The subway tunnel of the Sinansan Line collapsed at 3:13 p.m. near an elementary school, raising concerns for student safety. Fortunately, all students had already left the school before the incident occurred.

The collapsed section of the Sinansan Line’s underground double-track tunnel and the overlying road is located approximately 50 meters (164 feet) from an elementary school in Iljik-dong, according to the Gyeonggi Office of Education. As of last year, the school had 1,514 students and 100 teachers.

Most students had left the school following regular classes, which ended at 2:30 p.m. On a typical day, after-school care programs for lower-grade students run until 4 or 5 p.m. and occasionally as late as 8 p.m. However, the school was notified earlier that morning of potential risks at the tunnel site and decided to end after-school care early.

All students had left the campus by 3 p.m., narrowly avoiding what could have been a far more serious incident had children still been in the area.

The Gwangmyeong Office of Education inspected the school’s facilities to ensure structural safety.

“There are no visible cracks in the building, but there appear to be minor cracks on a section of the playground that borders the road,” said an official from the Gyeonggi Office of Education. “We plan to conduct safety inspections over the weekend and adjust next week’s academic schedule accordingly.”

Nearby residents have been evacuated to public facilities such as schools and the city gym.

In a disaster alert sent at 5:54 p.m., the city government instructed nearby residents to quickly evacuate to designated shelters. These included Gwanghwi High School, Woonsan High School, Chunghyun Middle School, Chunghyun High School and the local gymnasium.

Earlier, at around 12:30 a.m., a report was of multiple cracks in central support columns inside the tunnel. Construction officials had warned the city of a possible collapse, prompting police to shut down a 1-kilometer (0.62 miles) stretch of Ori-ro between Yangji Intersection in Gwangmyeong and Hohyeon Intersection in Anyang.

Despite the precautions, the tunnel and the overlying road eventually gave way around 3:13 p.m. One construction worker remains missing, while an excavator operator is trapped underground.

“We issued a Level 1 emergency response and activated an emergency control team,” said the Gwangmyeong Fire Department. “Of the two workers involved, one has been reached by phone. We are still trying to determine the location of the other, so it’s unclear how long the rescue will take.”

The tunnel is estimated to have been dug 30 meters down underground. Electricity and gas have been cut off to the area and authorities are also planning to bring tarpaulins and pumps for the two-day rain spell forecast for Saturday and Sunday.

BY KIM JI-HYE, KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]