Four dead and six injured in the collapse of a bridge under construction in South Korea

Four construction workers died and six were injured after the collapse of a bridge in works on the Cheonan highway, in the west of South Korea, authorities reported on Tuesday.

The incident occurred around 9:49 today local time (00:49 GMT), on a construction bridge that connects the Ansan-Yongin section of the Seoul-Sejong highway, when 50 meters of steel beams collapsed.

The workers were working under the bridge and were trapped after the collapse, while the images provided by the South Korean news agency Yonhap showed how the metal structure was falling in parts.

The structure was formed by several steel beams installed on a board that extends on pillars. The accident occurred apparently when several slabs placed on a dock fell to the ground while another pillar was placed with a crane.

Among the six wounded there are six gravity and one slight.

The interim president of South Korea, Choi Sang-Mok, gave emergency instructions to display all the resources and personnel available for the rescue operation, which ended more than four hours after the incident.

The construction company, Hyundai Engineering, apologized for what happened: «We are actively cooperating with the relevant authorities to guarantee a prompt recovery of the place and in the development of an exhaustive investigation into the cause of the accident,» he said in a statement.

Construction tasks on the highway began on January 1 and are planned to end at the end of 2026.

EFE