An elementary school student who suffered severe injuries after being crushed by a fallen ladder truck at an apartment complex in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, has ultimately passed away.

According to the Cheonan Dongnam Police Station and Dankook University Hospital, the victim, an elementary schooler identified as Child A, who suffered critical injuries when a ladder truck collapsed at an apartment complex in Sinbu-dong, Cheonan, yesterday (August 27), died while receiving treatment at around 3:00 p.m. yesterday.

A police official stated, "Child A was in cardiac arrest immediately after the accident and recovered a pulse following emergency first aid by 119 rescue workers, but ultimately passed away due to traumatic brain hemorrhage and other injuries."

Police investigation results revealed circumstances indicating that safety guidelines were not properly followed during the operation of the ladder truck.

At the time, Child A was passing by a playground on the way to school, and the ladder of the truck, which was moving moving-company loads at the apartment complex, collapsed toward the playground and struck the child.

Investigators found that the workers operated the vehicle without properly deploying the outriggers designed to stabilize the ladder truck.

Although all four outriggers should have been extended, the workers extended only two while elevating the ladder to the height of the 11th floor of the apartment building.

Police believe that the vehicle lost its balance during this process, causing the ladder to fall.

Police also confirmed that the person who actually operated the ladder truck at the time of the accident was a foreign national worker in his 20s who was residing in the country illegally.

Police have requested arrest warrants for two individuals, including a ladder truck driver in his 50s and the foreign worker in his 20s, on charges of professional negligence resulting in death.

The pre-trial detention hearing for the suspects was held at 11:00 a.m. today.

A police official stated, "We confirmed circumstances where they attempted to conceal the details of the accident, such as failing to disclose that the foreign worker operated the ladder truck," adding, "We will also investigate whether there were additional violations of safety rules, such as failing to control the area around the workplace."

(Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Lee Yu-jin | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)