Four killed in S. Korea subway site collapse

Written by Edrian Acla on

More in Asia:

This handout photo released by Namyangju Fire Station shows South Korean rescue members going down to an underground to search for victims after an explosion -- possibly of an oxygen tank -- at a subway construction site in the city of Namyangju, east of Seoul, on June 1, 2016. Four workers were killed and 10 others injured in a collapse at a subway construction site near the South Korean capital Seoul, the fire department said. / AFP PHOTO / Namyangju Fire Station / NAMYANGJU FIRE STATION
This handout photo released by Namyangju Fire Station shows South Korean rescue members going down to an underground to search for victims after an explosion — possibly of an oxygen tank — at a subway construction site in the city of Namyangju, east of Seoul, on June 1, 2016.
Four workers were killed and 10 others injured in a collapse at a subway construction site near the South Korean capital Seoul, the fire department said. / AFP PHOTO / 

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Four workers were killed and 10 others injured in a collapse Wednesday at a subway construction site near the South Korean capital Seoul, the fire department said.

The victims were doing welding work 15 meters underground when an explosion — possibly of an oxygen tank — caused the surrounding structure to cave in on top of them.

Four workers were killed, while the injured, some of them with severe burns, were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment, a fire department spokesman told AFP.

The accident occurred around 7:20 am (2220 GMT Tuesday) in the city of Namyangju, east of Seoul,

The precise cause of the accident is still under investigation.

sh/gh/iw
© 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse