1 dead, 1 injured in South Korea walkway collapse
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The bridge in Seongnam city reportedly collapsed because a waterpipe underneath was damaged due to heavy rain overnight.
PHOTO: THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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SEOUL – One woman was confirmed dead and another man injured as the walkway of a bridge collapsed in the Gyeonggi province of South Korea, Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday.
The bridge walkway, which crosses a small stream in Seongnam city, just south of the capital Seoul, caved in at around 9.50am local time (9.50am Singapore time).
The two people, who are not related, fell from the bridge into the stream below, about 5m below the bridge, according to The Korea Herald.
The woman, in her 30s, suffered a cardiac arrest and died after being taken to hospital.
The man, also in his 30s, was being treated for back injuries. He is reportedly in critical condition, The Korea Herald said.
On Thursday, the police said they have been questioning officials over the partial collapse of a bridge.
Investigators of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency summoned officials from the Bundang-gu Office who are in charge of bridge management.
They were questioned about the routine inspection of Bundang-gu bridges that took place from August 29, 2022 to November 26, 2022, in which Jeongjagyo got a B rating - the second highest of five grades - for safety.
The bridge in question got a C rating in 2021.
It underwent restoration works beginning in 2020 to get its safety rating upgraded to B last year. This included a four-month repair in 2020 by the Bundang-gu Office with a price tag of 384 million won (S$387,000).
According to the related law, a B rating refers to a “satisfactory” state, which means there are minor defects that do not affect it functioning as a structure but require partial repairs to improve durability.
Police declined to comment on the specifics of the investigation, but it has been reported that they are also looking into bridge maintenance that took place last year.
They are planning to call in other officials related to the safety inspection and repair of the bridge for questioning.
It is now unclear what exactly caused the structural failure of the 30-year-old bridge - 108 meters long and 26 meters wide - that made it collapse.
Problems with the structural integrity of the bridge itself is but one possibility, with some speculating about a collapse of the surface layer in the area being caused by heavy rain.
The city of Seongnam has closed off Jeongjagyo, along with Buljeonggyo, also in Jeongja-dong, and Sunaegyo in the adjacent Sunae-dong on safety concerns.
Officials plan to conduct emergency safety inspections of the three bridges as soon as possible, and will ultimately carry out safety checks of all 211 bridges across the city. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIAN NEWS NETWORK
