2 killed, 2 trapped after collapse at library construction site in Gwangju

Firefighters inspect a collapsed steel structure at the construction site for the Gwangju Metropolitan Library in Gwangju's Seo District, Thursday. Yonhap

Two workers were confirmed dead and two others remained missing after a steel structure collapsed at a library construction site in the southwestern city of Gwangju on Thursday, with firefighters continuing search and rescue operations through the night.

Search operations were ongoing to locate the missing workers believed to be trapped under twisted steel and concrete debris amid low visibility and fears of further collapse.

Two large cranes were being used to stabilize concrete structures and steel columns, while rescuers deployed thermographic cameras and other detection devices to search through the debris.

The accident was reported at 1:58 p.m., with four workers trapped under the collapsed steel structure at the construction site in Gwangju, about 300 kilometers south of Seoul.

Firefighters pulled out a 47-year-old worker, who was taken to a hospital in cardiac arrest but later pronounced dead. A second worker was located earlier in the day and recovered at 8:13 p.m., but was pronounced dead at the site.

The four victims were identified as technicians affiliated with a subcontractor, with all of them being Korean nationals.

The rescue operation was being delayed as firefighters were scraping off the hardening concrete poured earlier in the day and cutting off the rebar to facilitate the operation.

"We will do our best to conduct stabilizing work and search operations in tandem to swiftly locate the missing," a firefighter said.

Firefighting officials said the structure appeared to have collapsed while ready-mixed concrete was being poured.

A construction site official told Yonhap News Agency the rooftop of the second floor appeared to have collapsed down to the first floor, with no supports installed in between.

The library under construction was being built by the Gwangju metropolitan government on the site of a former waste incineration plant.

The 51.6 billion-won ($35 million) project was being built to cover a total floor area of 11,286 square meters across two stories above ground and two floors in the basement.

President Lee Jae Myung ordered authorities to make all-out efforts to rescue workers trapped in the rubble of the construction site during a policy briefing by the labor ministry.

Lee called on the relevant ministries to "mobilize all available personnel and equipment" to rescue the trapped workers.