Rescue operations at Ulsan boiler tower to resume after adjacent units demolished
Published: 10 Nov. 2025, 19:58
![A boiler tower at the Ulsan Thermal Power Plant is seen collapsed in Nam District, Ulsan, on Nov. 10. Fire authorities have suspended the search while conducting preliminary work to bring down reactors No. 4 and 6, located on either side of the collapsed boiler tower No. 5. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/10/6bb8b744-de5b-4f2a-95b7-eea910a4526f.jpg)
A boiler tower at the Ulsan Thermal Power Plant is seen collapsed in Nam District, Ulsan, on Nov. 10. Fire authorities have suspended the search while conducting preliminary work to bring down reactors No. 4 and 6, located on either side of the collapsed boiler tower No. 5. [YONHAP]
ULSAN — Authorities will resume search and rescue operations for the missing workers once the demolition of the boiler towers adjacent to the collapsed No. 5 unit at the Ulsan Thermal Power Plant in Dam District, Ulsan, is complete, officials said on Monday.
The Central Disaster Management Headquarters announced during a briefing at the Ulsan Thermal Power Plant that once the demolition of units No. 4 and No. 6 is completed this week, “the process of removing debris from the collapsed No. 5 tower to search for the missing workers will begin immediately.”
Seven workers were buried when boiler tower No. 5 collapsed on Thursday. So far, three bodies have been recovered. Two remain trapped under debris, and two others are unaccounted for. While the locations of those buried have been identified, the risk of further collapse has delayed rescue efforts.
Until now, search operations have relied primarily on small equipment, such as cutters and hydraulic presses. But once units No. 4 and No. 6 are dismantled, authorities plan to deploy cranes and other heavy machinery to speed up rescue efforts.
![A boiler tower at the Ulsan Thermal Power Plant is seen collapsed in Nam District, Ulsan, on Nov. 10. Fire authorities have suspended the search while conducting preliminary work to bring down reactors No. 4 and 6, located on either side of the collapsed boiler tower No. 5. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/10/44ca640c-5804-47ce-a345-07dbd198f400.jpg)
A boiler tower at the Ulsan Thermal Power Plant is seen collapsed in Nam District, Ulsan, on Nov. 10. Fire authorities have suspended the search while conducting preliminary work to bring down reactors No. 4 and 6, located on either side of the collapsed boiler tower No. 5. [YONHAP]
The disaster headquarters has not confirmed the exact time of the demolition. However, onlookers expect it to happen as early as Tuesday, as police began to restrict access to the blast zone — by a radius of 300 meters (984 feet) — at 6 p.m. on Monday.
“The inclination angle of the boiler towers targeted for demolition has been measured [...] and the planned work is proceeding normally,” an official from the disaster headquarters said. “We are currently carrying out preweakening operations and installing safety measures to minimize debris during the blast.”
Demolition work on units No. 4 and No. 6 will be handled by Korea Kacoh, the contractor responsible for the original construction project.
“It would take too long to bring in a new company, as that would require a fresh plan and structural reviews,” the official said. “Instead, the contractor with the most expertise in these structures will proceed with the demolition under close supervision by the headquarters and related authorities.”
![A press briefing by the Central Disaster Management Headquarters is held in front of the collapsed boiler tower at Ulsan Thermal Power Plant in Nam District, Ulsan, on Nov. 10. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/10/77d5a2ae-9548-49a2-b204-517b240a630d.jpg)
A press briefing by the Central Disaster Management Headquarters is held in front of the collapsed boiler tower at Ulsan Thermal Power Plant in Nam District, Ulsan, on Nov. 10. [YONHAP]
The demolition will use a directional blasting technique so that units No. 4 and No. 6 do not fall toward the already collapsed No. 5 tower. The two towers stand approximately 30 meters from either side of the fallen structure.
Tower No. 4 has undergone 100 percent of the preweakening process, while work on No. 6 is approximately 75 percent complete. Tower No. 5 had reached 90 percent completion when it collapsed.
If the demolition of towers No. 4 and No. 6 goes as planned, fire authorities will conduct a safety check of the sites before immediately resuming rescue operations at tower No. 5.
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, AN DAE-HUN, WE SUNG-WOOK [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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