• By Kamakshi Bishnoi
  • Tue, 25 Feb 2025 11:21 AM (IST)
  • Source:JND

At least two killed and five others sustained injuries after a bridge collapsed at an expressway construction site in the South Korean city of Cheonan. The accident occurred when the five 50 metre steel structures which supported the highway collapsed one after the other at around 9.50 AM on February 25.

Authorities have begun a search mission to find the three people who were allegedly buried under rubble at the site, reported the Fire agency. Agency Yonhap earlier reported 3 deaths but later South Korea's National Fire agency reported 2 deaths and five injured among which four remained in critical conditions.

A video of the collision was shared on X, in which the bridge appeared to be falling with the release of a massive cloud of smoke into the air.

READ MORE: Telangana Tunnel Collapse: Rescue Ops Enter Day 4; Navy's Special Team Deployed Amid Fading Hopes To Locate Trapped Workers

WATCH: 

In response to the tragic incident, Acting President Choi Sang-mok has issued urgent directives to make available all resources and personnel for the rescue operation. As per Seoul’s Labour Ministry data, more than 8,000 work-related deaths occurred in the country from 2020 to 2023.

In a similar incident, a section of the guardrail and adjacent sidewalk on Jeongja Bridge, South Korea collapsed on April 5, 2023. The collapse resulted in the death of a 40-year-old woman along with serious injuries to a 20-year-old man both of whom fell about five meters onto a walking trail below.