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A bridge connecting a beach to a rocky reef has collapsed in Guryongpo, Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. Seventeen people who were stranded on the rocky reef were rescued safely, while some narrowly avoided the accident by mere seconds.
Reporter Yang Byeong-un from TBC.
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The concrete deck of the bridge instantly buckles into a W-shape and plunges down into the sea.
A column of water surges high up from the sea where the deck collapsed.
A pedestrian who had walked within just about 10 meters of the collapse point hastily turns back.
It was a chilling moment that narrowly averted a major disaster.
At around 1:15 PM, Boritdol Bridge, a marine pedestrian bridge connecting the coast of Jang-gil-ri, Guryongpo-eup, and a rocky reef, collapsed.
[Lee Seon-ok / Accident Witness: The sound was so loud that I looked out at the sea. I saw water splashing really high up. So I thought, did a boat pass by and splash water like that? But because the sound was so loud, after coming outside and looking, the bridge was gone.]
About 50 meters of the marine section out of the total 225-meter length collapsed, and 17 people who were temporarily trapped on the rocky reef were safely rescued.
[Lim Jun-woo / Tourist Trapped on Rocky Reef: I was truly shocked. If by any chance we had been right there (under the bridge) enjoying the water, we could have suffered a major accident.]
A fishing park is established around the accident site, making it a place frequently visited by anglers and tourists alike.
Because of this, the fire authorities and the Coast Guard conducted underwater searches multiple times, but there were no casualties.
The issue lies in the cause of the accident.
The bridge where the accident occurred was completed in 2013, received a grade C in a safety diagnosis in 2024, and had some of its decks and piers reinforced last year.
Having collapsed helplessly just a year after completing the reinforcement work, strong suspicions of shoddy construction have been raised.
The city of Pohang has closed marine bridges and similar marine facilities built within its jurisdiction and entered into safety inspections.
(Video by Go Dae-seung / TBC, Footage provided by viewer)
Yang Byeong-un, TBC
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