4 dead, 10 wounded in South Korea's subway construction site collapse

Four people have been confirmed dead, with 10 more wounded, in a collapse accident at a subway construction site in South Korea, Yonhap news agency and local broadcaster YTN on Wednesday.

An official at the firefighting authorities told a briefing, televised through the broadcaster, that a subway construction site in the city of Namyangju, east of Seoul, collapsed for an unidentified reason at about 7:27 a.m. local time.

Four people were found dead, with eight more injured. Among them, three were heavily injured, and five suffered light injuries.

According to Yonhap, two more have been found wounded, sending the total casualties number to 10 injuries and four deaths. At the time, a total of 17 people were on the works near the site.

The accident was estimated to have been caused by an explosion of oxygen cylinders during the welding works. The exact cause is still under investigation.

Scores of rescuers and rescue equipments were dispatched to the scene. The rescue operations are still going on for possible casualties.

Source: XINHUA