A 196-foot tower collapsed during demolition at a decommissioned thermal power plant in Ulsan, South Korea, killing one person and leaving at least four others presumed dead, officials said Friday.
According to The Associated Press, nine workers were on-site when the boiler tower gave way Thursday afternoon. Rescue crews pulled two people to safety soon after arriving, while another was pronounced dead at a hospital early Friday.
By Friday morning, search teams had recovered another presumed victim and located three more believed to be dead, according to Ulsan fire department official Kim Jeong-shik.
“The rescue site is currently covered with large amounts of asbestos and glass fibers … and the space is extremely cramped, forcing rescue workers to manually clear the debris by hand in order to carry out the rescue operations,” Kim said during a briefing.
The search was briefly halted due to unstable rubble, with stabilization work postponed before resuming when rescuers spotted additional workers.
More than 340 rescue personnel, dozens of vehicles, and specialized equipment including thermal cameras and search dogs have been deployed to the scene.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung ordered officials to mobilize all available resources for the rescue effort while prioritizing worker safety.
The Ulsan power plant was decommissioned in 2021 after 40 years of service. Officials said the boiler tower had been structurally weakened as part of the demolition process.
