GWANGJU BUILDING COLLAPSES

[Anchor Lead]

A building collapsed onto a road during demolition in Gwangju. The debris fell on a bus, killing and injuring 17 people. We have the details.

[Pkg]

A building collapses on a running vehicle in the nick of time. The area becomes engulfed in clouds of dust. A video captured from another angle shows the structure falling onto a bus at a bus stop. Passers-by rush to escape the scene. The road is covered in piles of debris.

[Soundbite] Shim Hyung-seok(Gwangju resident) : "It sounded like a gas tank exploding. Like a loud 'bang.' I could hear it all the way from over there."

[Soundbite] Kang Dae-kyun(Gwangju resident) : "I saw clouds of dust when I ran outside. There were rocks on all but one lane of the road."

The accident occurred on Wednesday afternoon around 4:30 PM local time at a redevelopment site in Dong-gu District of Gwangju. The five-storey structure caved in during the demolition process. Sources say heavy equipment was deployed for demolition on the upper floors of the building when the tragedy occurred. Construction workers managed to evacuate after catching the initial signs of a collapse. The structure fell onto a nearby road, hitting bus and passing by vehicles. Nine of the 17 people on the bus have died, eight others sustained serious injuries.

[Soundbite] Kim Seok-soon(Dongbu Fire Station) : "The accident occurred during the demolition of a building in a redevelopment area."

Firefighting authorities and police will investigate if safety equipments were used properly during demolition as soon as rescue operations are wrapped up.