19.12.2025

Korean crane incident

A man died yesterday when a crane overturned on the site of a new southern terminal interchange for the Jamsil Bridge on the southeastern edge of Seoul, South Korea.
The reports so far are jumbled. What we do know is that a 30 to 35 tonne mobile crane went over, and it took the emergency services more than two and a half hours to extract the man, 66, from under the rubble. He was then declared dead at the scene.

One report we received indicated that a large truck delivering materials was moving closer to the crane when it struck and caught up the crane’s outrigger beam, causing the two to go over, dumping the truck’s load of formwork panels onto the man helping unload. We have not yet found a second source for this version of events, so it remains pure conjecture at this point. We will, of course, update when we hear more. In the meantime, we would be happy to hear from others who witnessed the incident.
The acting chief executive of the main contractor, Samhwan Construction, issued a public apology saying, " A fatal accident occurred at a construction site near Jamsil Bridge in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Our deepest condolences go out to the deceased, along with our sincere sympathy to the bereaved family"
An immediate stop work order was issued and the Seoul Regional Employment and Labour Office began an immediate investigation.

Vertikal Comment

It is entirely possible that the truck caused this incident and not the crane, although it sounds as though it was not set up well for arriving delivery vehicles. The sad news, of course, is that a person has lost their life in a crane related incident that should not have occurred.