The man was riding his motorbike along the Gangdong district of the South Korean capital when tragedy struck above a subway tunnel that was undergoing construction work
South Korea: One dead after sinkhole opens in Seoul
A motorcyclist has been found dead 50m below a giant sinkhole which opened up during rush hour.
Rescue workers in Seoul spent 18 hours trying to recover the man after the huge 65.62ft-deep crater suddenly appeared. The road suddenly caved in at around 6.30pm local time on Monday. The man had been riding his motorbike along the Gangdong district of the South Korean capital when tragedy struck above a subway tunnel that was undergoing construction work.
He fell into the hole and was later found buried beneath dirt, debris and construction equipment. Earlier on Tuesday, rescuers found a mobile phone a motorcycle, according to local media. The man, believed to be in his 30s, is yet to be named by authorities.
A second person who was driving along the road in a car narrowly escaped the horror with minor injuries.
Shocking dash cam footage captured the moment the car almost plunged into sinkhole but bounced against the tarmac and back onto an area of the road that was still intact. The vehicle was closely followed by the motorcyclist who tried to push his foot against the road to stop.
Car driver Heo Mo, 48, told the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper: “I heard thunder from somewhere while I was driving and then I lost consciousness for about 10 seconds. When I came to, I couldn’t see a single car in front of me, and when I looked back, I saw a large hole.
“I tried to move forward again because I was afraid the car would fall into the hole again, but the car wouldn’t move and the door wouldn’t open, so I barely managed to get out through the window. The accident happened before I had time to step on the brakes. I think I was able to avoid falling into the sinkhole because the car didn’t stop and kept going forward.”
It is not known exactly what caused the sinkhole to appear, and the incident is currently under investigation. Accoring to a recent report submitted to the Seoul city government, 223 sinkholes opened in the city in the past decade due to poor infrastructure management, ageing or damaged pipes, and long-term subsidence and accidents caused by excavation work.
