[Anchor]

More than 30 people were injured after a ceiling collapsed at a commercial building in Daegu this morning (October 10). An event targeting senior citizens was underway at the accident site. Although there were no critical injuries, it could have been a major catastrophe.

TBC reporter Kim Nak-sung investigated the incident.

[Reporter]

Steel frames and gypsum boards are strewn across the floor like the aftermath of a bombing, and the ceiling exposes its concrete skeleton.

At around 10:16 AM today, ceiling finishing materials collapsed on the second floor of a four-story commercial building in Gwaneum-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu.

The accident site was a vacant space formerly used as a billiard hall. Since October 3, a distribution company had leased the second-floor space and was using it as an event venue to sell daily necessities such as electric blankets to the elderly.

The event was ongoing at the time of the accident when steel clips began to detach from the ceiling furthest from the second-floor entrance, causing a progressive collapse.

[Kim Tae-su / Gwaneum-dong, Daegu: A person who got hurt came down and said, 'I'm fine,' but then blood suddenly started flowing down. It turned out their head had been struck.]

Immediately after the accident, 66 people at the scene evacuated in an emergency, but 38 were injured by falling debris hitting their heads and other body parts, with 9 of them transported to hospitals.

The building is a four-story structure built in 1994, and the mart on the first floor was reportedly also closed for business at the time.

[Hwang Chil-seok / Head of Incident Command, Daegu Gangbuk Fire Station: Fortunately, because there were desks and chairs beneath the ceiling tiles, creating empty spaces, there were no severely injured victims among the casualties.]

Following the accident, President Lee Jae-myung ordered all-out efforts to handle the situation, and Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho also visited the scene to inspect the situation.

The Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency formed a dedicated investigation team consisting of 33 members, led by the head of the metropolitan investigation unit and including the severe accident investigation team and forensic investigation unit.

Tomorrow morning, the National Forensic Service, along with related agencies, plans to conduct a joint inspection to investigate whether building aging or shoddy construction was involved, while the Buk-gu Office also plans to carry out safety inspections across the entire building.

(Video by Go Dae-seung / TBC, Video Editing by Lee So-young, Design by Choi Jae-young)

TBC, Kim Nak-sung