Library Construction Collapse in Gwangju Kills 1, 3 Still Trapped

A steel structure collapsed at the construction site of the Gwangju Representative Library in Chipyeong-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju, at approximately 1:58 p.m. Wednesday.

Four workers were buried under the collapsed structure. Fire authorities dispatched to the scene rescued one person, who is presumed dead. Of the remaining three, rescuers have visually located one and are conducting rescue operations. The locations of the other two workers remain unknown.

The collapse is believed to have started from the second-floor rooftop during concrete pouring and cascaded down to ground level.

Fire authorities issued a Level 1 response, mobilizing all personnel from the local fire station and deploying special rescue teams to the site.

The Gwangju Representative Library was planned as a two-story building with two basement levels, covering 11,286 square meters of floor space. The city of Gwangju was investing 51.6 billion won ($38 million) to build the facility on the site of a former incineration plant in Sangmu.

Police and fire authorities said they will investigate the exact cause of the accident after rescue operations are completed.

Gwangju Metropolitan City immediately convened an on-site meeting following the collapse and activated its regional disaster response headquarters at 2:20 p.m. Gwangju Mayor Kang Ki-jung, Deputy Mayor for Administration Ko Kwang-wan, Director of Citizen Safety Kim Jun-young, and Seo-gu District Mayor Kim Yi-gang attended the meeting.

Mayor Kang instructed officials to prioritize safe and swift rescue operations. He also discussed the need for additional equipment such as cranes and ordered rapid coordination. The mayor directed officials to promptly contact the families of the trapped workers.