Seoul: One worker was killed and two others were injured after steel bars collapsed at an underground construction site at a subway station in western Seoul on Thursday, authorities said. The accident occurred at 1:22 p.m. at the Sinansan Line construction site near Yeouido Station, while concrete was being poured underground, according to police and rescue officials. Seven workers were initially trapped but were later rescued.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the steel bars installed in the tunnel excavation area about 70 meters underground collapsed and struck a concrete placement vehicle driven by a 53-year-old man, leaving him in cardiac arrest. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Another male worker in his 50s was taken to a hospital with a minor ankle injury, while a foreign worker in his 30s came out of the site on his own and received treatment for minor scrapes on his wrist. The remaining workers evacuated to a vertical shaft before being rescued by firefighters.

Police and the labor ministry said they plan to investigate the cause of the accident and whether safety protocols were followed. Construction at the site, managed by POSCO E and C, will be suspended until the investigation is complete, they noted. Shortly after the incident, Song Chi-young, president of POSCO E and C, visited the site and offered a public apology, stating, "We will cooperate sincerely and transparently throughout the entire investigation process."