Motorway bridge collapses in South Korea killing four workers

A motorway bridge under construction near Cheonan in South Korea has collapsed, killing four workers on site and leaving six others injured.

The bridge, located at Section 9 of the Sejong-Anseong Expressway in Gyeonggi Province, was being developed by construction company Hyundai Engineering.

Ten people were reportedly working on the site when five 50-meter-long concrete decks linking the bridge collapsed sequentially onto a road beneath it, leaving them trapped below the rubble.

"Thorough investigation" underway

The six surviving workers are in hospital, with five being treated for serious injuries and the sixth for minor injuries.

Hyundai Engineering, which has since issued an apology for the accident, is cooperating with local authorities investigating the cause.

"We sincerely apologize for the tragic loss of lives and injuries caused by the accident at our construction site," Hyundai Engineering said in a statement.

"We are actively cooperating with the relevant authorities to ensure a swift site recovery and a thorough investigation into the exact cause of the accident."

A motorway bridge has collapsed during construction in South Korea

The collapse was captured in rear-facing dashcam footage of a car on the road 52 metres below, onto which the bridge suddenly fell, sending clouds of dust into the air.

It is reported that a crane was moving along the deck when one part of it unexpectedly sank, leading to a sequential collapse.

According to the president of Korean Safety Experts Association, Lee Song-kyu, the bridge's installation sequence needed to be investigated.

"Looking at the video from the time of the accident, it seems that an unbalanced load (weight tilting to one side) acted during the installation of the beam," Kee said.

Deadly accidents regularly occur at construction sites in South Korea, which has one of the highest work-related fatality rates in the world.

In 2022, this led the country to introduce a law that sees companies punished for deaths of workers on industrial sites.

According to data released in March by South Korea's labour ministry, 598 industrial workers died in 2023, with the construction sector accounting for 303 of those deaths.

The aerial view of the construction site is courtesy of Google, copyright 2o25 Airbus, Maxar Technologies.

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