Two dead, five injured in South Korean bridge collapse

This dashcam video grab made available on February 25, 2025 by Yonhap news agency shows a bridge collapsing at an expressway construction site in Cheonan. Agence France-Presse

SEOUL — Two people were killed and five injured after a bridge collapsed at an expressway construction site in South Korea on Tuesday, authorities said.

Local media aired dramatic footage of what appeared to be a section of the bridge collapsing, sending a massive cloud of smoke into the air.

Two people died, four were seriously injured and one suffered a minor injury, according to a statement from the National Fire Agency.

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Authorities are still searching for three people buried under the debris, it added.

An interior ministry official told AFP that the injured were being transported to hospitals.

The incident took place at around 9:50 am in Cheonan, around 82 kilometers (51 miles) south of Seoul.

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Acting President Choi Sang-mok has issued urgent directives to mobilize all available resources and personnel for the rescue operation.

According to data from Seoul’s labour ministry, more than 8,000 work-related deaths occurred in the country from 2020 to 2023.