Search resumes for 4th day at Gwangju apartment building collapse site

GWANGJU, Jan. 14 (Yonhap) -- Search and rescue operations resumed at an apartment building collapse site in the southwestern city of Gwangju for a fourth day Friday.

According to the Gwangju Fire and Safety Headquarters, the search for six missing persons resumed at 7 a.m. with 71 rescue workers aided by 43 instruments and eight rescue dogs.

Exterior walls of the 39-story building under construction in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, crumbled Tuesday, trapping construction workers at the site.

Three workers were rescued in the initial search operation, with one of them sustaining injuries from falling rubble. But six who were working on upper floors of the building went missing.

One person was found trapped near the handrail of a set of stairs on the first basement floor Thursday, and rescue workers were trying to remove concrete debris and iron wires to save him, the fire headquarters said, adding he may be one of the six people unaccounted for. It is still unknown whether he is alive or dead.

The agency expects the search and rescue operations to take a considerable amount of time due to a heap of fallen objects. Heavy objects were being lifted with heavy equipment, and rescue workers were dismantling reinforcing bars.

The agency said an intensive search was under way on the 22nd, 25th, 26th and 28th floors, where the rescue dogs responded.

ycm@yna.co.kr
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