Man rescued after 3.5-hour rooftop standoff near Gangnam Station

Police officers and rescue workers approach a man during a suicide standoff on the rooftop of a building near Gangnam Station in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

A man who climbed onto the rooftop railing of a 15-story building near Seoul's Gangnam Station was safely rescued after a tense standoff that lasted more than three and a half hours on Tuesday.

According to fire authorities, the incident began around 3 p.m., when emergency services received a report that a man was standing on the edge of a building near Exit 2 of Gangnam Station on Subway Line 2.

Firefighters responded quickly, deploying two large air mats on the ground and securing the area to keep bystanders away. A police SWAT team and a negotiation unit were also dispatched to assist in the rescue.

Witnesses said the man paced along the narrow ledge and waved his arms in the air. Rescue workers kept engaging him in conversation from a close distance on the rooftop in an effort to de-escalate the situation. He was eventually pulled to safety at around 6:30 p.m.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.