Five workers fall from construction site, two dead

The construction site in Anseong, Gyeonggi [YONHAP]

Five workers fell from the fourth floor of a construction site of a cold storage warehouse in Anseong, Gyeonggi, on Friday, killing two, according to the Gyeonggi Disater and Safety Headquarters.

Three workers were initially reported to be in cardiac arrest, two of which were later reported to be dead.

As of press time, two workers are in serious condition.

Workers fell 5 to 6 meters (16 to 20 feet) from the fourth floor of the construction side to the third floor as the formwork collapsed at around 1:05 p.m. on Friday.

The cause of the collapse has not been reported yet.

The contractor, SGC eTEC E&C, will be charged under the Serious Accident Punishment Act as the company's number of workers exceeds 200.

Under the act, owners of companies, managers and the corporation itself can be charged if they fail to properly implement safety practices and procedures and a casualty resulted from their negligence. The act applies to businesses with 50 or more employees. Those found to have violated the act can be jailed for a year or more or fined up to 1 billion won ($700,000).

The construction for the warehouse broke ground in August and was planned to be completed in February.

The police and fire department are further investigating the accident.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]