Body of motorcyclist buried in Seoul sinkhole found
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Fire officials reported that they discovered the victim’s belongings and motorcycle in the sinkhole in Seoul’s Gangdong-gu district, but have yet to locate the driver.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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SEOUL – A motorcyclist has been killed after a massive sinkhole opened up in Seoul, the fire department said on March 25, with harrowing video footage showing the moment his vehicle was swallowed by the hole.
The vast hole opened up at an intersection in the southeast of the South Korean capital during the evening rush hour around 6.30pm on March 24.
Dashcam footage shared with AFP by a local lawmaker shows the hole appearing abruptly in the middle of a busy street, with a motorbike being swallowed up instantly as a car narrowly escapes the same fate, sliding into the hole before somehow bouncing out.
The fire department conducted a major search, with rescue workers wearing wetsuits and “digging with their hands” alongside a rescue dog, in a frantic 17-hour hunt for the motorcyclist.
However, on March 25 “the missing person who is in his thirties, was discovered in cardiac arrest, approximately 50m from the centerline of the sinkhole,” Mr Kim Chang-seop, an official from the Gangdong Fire Station, told reporters.
“He was buried at a depth of approximately 90cm and was found intact, still wearing his helmet and motorcycle boots,” said Mr Kim, adding they “regret that we are unable to deliver better news.”
The driver of the car suffered minor injuries.
At approximately 1.37am on March 25, emergency crews recovered a smartphone believed to belong to the missing motorist. At around 3.30am, they located the motorcycle, which had fallen 20m and was buried under about 50cm of earth. The licence plate had detached from the vehicle.
The authorities said about 6,480 metric tonnes of soil and sand had accumulated in the sinkhole. Leaked water had also created roughly 2,000 tonnes of a sand-and-water mixture inside the crater. Firefighters drained about 1,800 tonnes of water using a reserve pump.
Rescue operations resumed at 7am on March 25. Crews in diving suits and a rescue dog were deployed to search near the area of land subsidence in the hope of locating the missing motorist.
The hole is now around 20m wide and 20m deep, the fire department said.
A handful of schools nearby closed on March 25 citing safety concerns.
The cause of the sinkhole will be investigated, but the accident occurred at a site where extension work for a metro line was underway.
A Seoul city spokesperson told AFP it was clear the construction could have been one of “several possible contributing factors”.
“There were several factors at play. Once the surrounding soil and debris are cleared, we will conduct a full investigation into the cause of the accident with a team of experts,” the spokesperson said.
Sinkhole accidents are rare in South Korea, with fewer than 200 reported cases every year on average – significantly less than the number recorded in neighbouring Japan. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, AFP
