Search for missing workers at Gwangju construction accident site suspended amid safety inspection

GWANGJU -- A safety inspection was under way Wednesday as authorities weighed when to resume a search for the six workers who went missing after the collapse of a facade of a high-rise apartment building under construction in the southwestern city of Gwangju a day earlier.

Search efforts at the collapse site were temporarily suspended Tuesday night due to safety concerns over possible further disintegration of the building or the potential collapse of a tower crane adjoining the building.

Exterior walls of the apartment building under construction in western Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, crumbled down earlier in the day, trapping construction workers nearby.

Three workers were rescued in the initial search operation, with one of them sustaining injuries from falling rubble.

Six who were working on upper floors of the building, however, remain unaccounted for. 

Mobilizing safety specialists and two drones, a safety inspection was launched in the morning to determine if it is safe for rescue workers to resume a search operation.

Rescuers were on standby to resume the search as soon as safety clearance is issued.

The city government of Gwangju ordered the suspension of all ongoing construction work by HDC Hyundai Development Co., the main contractor of the construction project, within the city as it plans to open a probe into the cause of the deadly accident and those responsible.

City officials also pledged to make all possible administrative efforts to find the missing workers. (Yonhap)