A retaining wall in Gwangju collapsed early Thursday burying dozens of vehicles parked in an apartment complex.
At about 3:49 a.m., a 30-meter section of the 15-meter high wall collapsed, burying vehicles in the parking lot adjacent to the structure. No casualties were reported as of 9 a.m.
However, the authorities are analyzing security camera footage and searching unearthed vehicles for possible casualties.
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| Vehicles stand crushed by the collapsed retaining wall in Gwangju on Thursday. (Yonhap) |
Residents of two apartment buildings nearest to the collapsed wall have been evacuated to a nearby school for safety. According to the emergency services, the accident caused about 1,000 metric tons of soil and concrete to spill into the parking lot.
Following the incident it was revealed that the structure was not categorized as potentially dangerous despite its age and steep incline, excluding it from the citywide safety check up Gwangju has been conducting.
At a height of 15 meters high with a near-vertical incline, the structure was built in 1993 to protect the apartment complex from soil erosion of a nearby hill.
According to Gwangju city government, the wall is classified only as an area of steep slope, and it was considered safe enough to exempt it from regular assessment.
By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)
