South Korea rescuers use explosives to reach workers trapped at collapsed building

A South Korean team demolished two towering structures with explosives on Tuesday in a bid to clear the way to recover two workers who are presumed dead and two others missing in the rubble of a collapsed industrial facility.

They were among nine who were working on the massive steel structure, a decommissioned heating facility, at a power station in the city of Ulsan to weaken its base to prepare for demolition when it collapsed five days ago.

Two workers were quickly rescued but seven others were trapped in the mangled rubble which was considered unstable and posed the risk of further collapse, hampering rescue efforts. The bodies of three workers have since been retrieved.

The two other structures next to the collapsed tower, which were about 60 metres (66 yards) tall and remained standing, were assessed as too unstable to allow rescuers to use heavy machinery, further slowing the recovery operation.

The structures collapsed within seconds after the explosives were detonated in a cloud of smoke and debris, footage of the demolition showed.

Labour Minister Kim Young-hoon was quoted in local media as saying there will be a criminal investigation into the collapse once recovery work is complete.

Reuters