Ulsan: The search for four workers trapped under a collapsed boiler tower in the southeastern city of Ulsan resumed Tuesday after two other towers were demolished to ensure the safety of rescue personnel. Around 70 search and rescue experts have been mobilized for the effort, which was suspended on Sunday amid concerns that the two towers flanking the collapsed structure could also crumble, firefighting authorities said.

According to Yonhap News Agency, at noon, Towers 4 and 6 were blown up, clearing the way for rescue personnel to dig through the debris of Tower 5 at a thermal power plant belonging to the Ulsan branch of Korea East-West Power Co., a state-run utility company. Tower 5 collapsed last Thursday, trapping seven workers, including three whose bodies have been recovered. Two have been located but are feared dead, while another two remain missing.

Officials stated that two cutting machines were being used to reach the two workers spotted within 5 meters of the entrance to the debris. The search for the missing two will begin from where the other two workers have been located. Each tower was 63 meters tall, and at the time of its collapse, Tower 5 had been in the process of being demolished after 40 years of use ending in 2021.