It was confirmed that a total of 20 reports were received by the fire department immediately after the collapse at the Seosomun overpass demolition site in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Reporters reported urgent situations such as “a worker has been crushed” and “a car has been crushed”, as well as concerns about loss of life.
According to the 119 transcript submitted by the National Fire Agency to the office of Rep. Yang Bun-nam of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee, on the 27th, there were a total of 5 reports received regarding the collapse of the Seosomun overpass for 12 seconds from 2:32:10 to 22 seconds the previous day.
The first reporter, Mr. A, said, “The bridge has collapsed right now. I think you need to come quickly,” and “Workers are trapped.” When the firefighter who received the report asked, “Do you know how many people were crushed?” he said, “All I can see is one person. It looks like he fell off the bridge,” and emphasized again, “I think you need to come quickly.” The firefighter then asked, “Can you check if he is conscious?” and he said, “Your eyes are open.”
Another reporter, Mr. B, reported, “The overpass has collapsed. A car has been crushed, and it looks like people are coming out,” and “Please come out (to the scene) quickly.” When the firefighter asked, “Is there anyone inside?” Mr. B answered “Yes.”
Reporter C reported, “It looks like several people were crushed. The site collapsed during demolition work here.” He said, “It’s a building next door, and I heard the sound of it collapsing, so I looked outside and (someone) saw several people falling.” He added, “It appears that materials fell on the railroad tracks as well.”
Mr. D, who reported himself as a “resident living nearby,” also urged, “Please respond quickly.” He explained the situation by saying, “I couldn’t go inside because there was too much dust,” and “the train has to take a long time, and it’s all chaos right now.”
According to Rep. Yang’s office, a total of 20 119 reports were received around 2:32 p.m. the previous day regarding the collapse accident at the Seodaemun overpass demolition site. It is reported that Seoul city officials and nearby merchants called to report the incident one after another at the scene.
The accident occurred around 2 p.m. the previous day while the Seoul Metropolitan Government, construction-related company officials, and external experts gathered to conduct a joint on-site safety diagnosis. The safety diagnosis was conducted to check the 2.9cm step settlement phenomenon that was discovered during slab cutting work in the early morning of the same day. In this accident, three people, including the construction company’s site management manager in his 60s, the supervisor in his 60s, and an external expert in his 50s, died. Three other people were injured and taken to the hospital.
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