Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
11 rescued from gym collapse
Rescue workers look for survivors in the debris at the construction site for a gymnasium in Sadang-dong, Seoul, Wednesday. Part of a roof collapsed, burying 11 workers. All the workers were safely rescued. / Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
All eleven workers buried under debris from a collapsed roof were rescued at the construction site of a Seoul gymnasium, firefighters said Wednesday.
The accident occurred at around 5:05 p.m. when part of the roof of the gym collapsed.
Two Daejeon-based companies Art Construction and Sunrise Construction have been in charge of building the gym in Sadang-dong, southern Seoul, since June 2013.
The workers were trapped for a little over an hour before they were rescued by the firefighters and sent to nearby hospitals.
A rescue worker said no one was seriously injured by the collapse, but a few of them appeared to have suffered minor leg injuries.
After being told of the accident, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon immediately rushed to the scene.
Firefighters earlier had said there were nine people buried under the debris, but they found two more victims during the rescue.
The construction was expected to be completed by the second half of the year.