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Authorities plan 'directional' demolition to aid trapped workers' rescue effort

Published: 10 Nov. 2025, 10:14 Updated: 10 Nov. 2025, 11:44

Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon gives a briefing at the site of the Ulsan Thermal Power Plant boiler tower collapse on the afternoon of Nov. 9, the fourth day since the accident. [YONHAP]

Authorities plan to demolish two remaining boiler towers at Korea East-West Power’s Ulsan Thermal Power Plant early this week to secure a path for rescuers to reach four workers still trapped under the rubble of the collapsed unit 5.

Boiler tower unit 5 collapsed last Thursday at the Ulsan plant, which suddenly gave way while undergoing preparations to be demolished, burying nine workers as a result. Units 4 and 6, located on either side of the fallen structure, were also in the process of being dismantled when the accident happened.

Units 4 and 6, which flank the collapsed boiler tower of unit 5 at the Ulsan Thermal Power Plant, are expected to be dismantled this week. Explosives will be used to demolish the two flanking towers simultaneously, though efforts are being made to minimize any impact on the already-damaged unit 5.

“Because units 4 and 6 around unit 5 make it difficult to deploy large-scale equipment and manpower and slow rescue operations, we have decided to dismantle units 4 and 6, which pose an additional collapse risk,” said Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon, during a briefing in front of the accident site at 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Kim also leads the central accident response headquarters organized to specifically handle the collapse.

Units 4, 5 and 6 were already undergoing demolition work at the time of the collapse. Pre-demolition weakening — cutting columns and other structural elements before full removal — was complete for unit 4 and about 75 percent complete for unit 6. Unit 5 had been weakened by roughly 90 percent when it collapsed.

Demolition equipment are being set up at the Ulsan Thermal Power Plant in Ulsan for Boiler Towers 4 and 6 in order to continue the rescue operations at the collapsed Boiler Tower Unit 5 on Nov. 9. [YONHAP]

Four workers remain buried in the wreckage of Unit 5 as of Monday, 9:40 a.m.

“Because the demolition will involve blasting, it carries its own risks and could increase danger for those still trapped,” said Kim. “We discussed this with several experts. At this point, there is no method that can guarantee success without risk.” Kim added that the demolition is intended to secure a route for rescue operations.

A clear-set schedule was not outlined by authorities, just that it will be "early this week."

The demolition will be carried out using a directional blasting method designed to ensure that units 4 and 6 collapse away from Unit 5, preventing debris from falling toward the already-damaged structure.

Once the demolition of units 4 and 6 is complete, crews will immediately begin removing the debris from unit 5. Rescue teams will enter the site and resume the search for the missing workers as soon as an access route is secured through the cleared section.

Officials look for survivors during a rescue operation at the collapsed boiler tower of the Ulsan Thermal Power Plant in Ulsan on Nov. 7. [NATIONAL FIRE AGENCY]

The central accident response headquarters said Sunday that the blasting and cutting operations will be carried out step by step, with safety verified at each stage before proceeding to the next.

Fire authorities plan to use small cranes and excavators to remove debris from unit 5 and accelerate rescue operations once enough space has been cleared to locate the missing workers. Authorities also said that if additional pre-demolition weakening work proceeds, they will suspend direct search-and-rescue operations using personnel for safety reasons, but will continue aerial searches using drones.

“The meeting considered placing explosives at the 10-meter (32.8-feet) and 25-meter heights of units 4 and 6 and felling them toward areas with no other structures,” said Democratic Party Rep. Kim Tae-seon, who attended a situation-assessment meeting Sunday with the fire authorities and victims’ families. “My understanding is the dismantling is scheduled for early this week.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM MIN-JU, LEE EUN-JI, AN DAE-HUN [[email protected]]