A motorcyclist who fell into a 20m-wide sinkhole in Seoul on Monday died after nearly 18 hours of search and rescue efforts.
The 33-year-old man, identified by his surname Park, was found 50m away from the centre of the collapsed sinkhole in a subway tunnel under construction almost 20m from the surface, fire rescue official Kim Chang-seob said.
Emergency officials said the motorcyclist was found wearing a helmet and motorcycle boots. His Japanese-made motorcycle and mobile phone were also recovered from the sinkhole. Rescuers found him around 11am local time. “He was found without a pulse and unconscious,” the Gangdong-gu Fire Department said during a briefing on Tuesday.
They had to pump out water and dig through dirt, as well as navigate past construction equipment and other debris, to be able to locate the victim. The cause of the collapse of the six-lane road is under investigation.
The incident took place at an intersection near an elementary school in eastern Seoul at 6.29pm, swallowing a motorcycle driver, who is yet to be rescued.
A white Carnival vehicle, which was passing just before the road collapsed, was damaged. The driver, identified as 48-year-old Heo Mo, was injured and taken to a hospital.
Dashboard camera footage showed the car bouncing violently as its rear wheels narrowly cleared the hole, followed by the motorcycle and the rider plunging into the chasm.
Police and firefighters believe that a broken water main pipe may have led to the pit on the road.
Rescue operations were concluded by 12.36pm local time.
During an overnight search operation, rescuers found a mobile phone at around 1.37am which is believed to have belonged to the missing biker. His motorcycle was recovered about two hours later, approximately 30m underground, reported Korea JoongAng Daily.
Authorities resumed the search this morning around 7am using heavy equipment, reported Yonhap News Agency.
The sinkhole, estimated to be 18m wide, 20m long and 30m deep, is expected to collapse further. Water is still leaving from the broken pipe, though the flow has weakened. Earlier, Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon called for safety measures to be put in place, as he noted that the sinkhole on the six-lane road is getting bigger.
"Please do your best to ensure there are no casualties from the land subsidence and to secure the area during the rescue operations,” he noted.
On Monday, the Gangdong-gu Office also issued a safety information text, advising commuters to “check the traffic information in advance and use the detour road”, adding that there is “full traffic control in both directions between the crossroads” from the Gildong Ecological Park to the Daemyeong Elementary School entrance.
A resident who operates a gas station nearby first saw a slight collapse of the manhole next to the road around 10am and complained about it to the district authorities at around 10.30am.
While the emergency repair was carried around 1.30pm and 2pm, additional repair was done at 3pm, reported the Chosun Biz, citing district officials.
The sinkhole formed about one to one and a half hours after the repairs were completed, he told the outlet.
"There were precursor signs since the end of February. The gas station floor had started to crack and sink," he said, adding, "I filed a complaint with the Seoul City government and a safety inspection was conducted a week ago”.
According to a report submitted to the Seoul’s city government, nearly 223 sinkholes have occurred in the city in the last decade, reported BBC.
