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, but the authorities analyzed security camera footage and searched unearthed vehicles for possible casualties.
Residents of the 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 Gwangju’s citywide safety check-ups.
At a height of 15 meters 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 assessments.
By Choi He-suk ()
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
