20151204 Korea Seohae Bridge to be closed until Dec. 24 after cable fire
Korea Dec 04 2015 “Other”
Dead : dead 1 to 4 Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Seohae Bridge to be closed until Dec. 24 after cable fire
Updated: 2015-12-04 21:26
The Seohae Grand Bridge connecting Pyongtaek and Dangjin will be closed until Dec. 24 due to safety concerns after three of the bridge’s cables were damaged by the fire Thursday.
The Korea Expressway Corp. said Friday that a 13-kilometer section of road between the West Pyeongtaek and Songak interchanges on the Seohaean Expressway will be shut down until the cables are repaired.
This might cause traffic jams as nearly 42,000 vehicles travel on this section every day.
“We have confirmed that one of the cables that support the bridge was completely disconnected and two cables were damaged because of the fire,” said a corporation official.
The cables on the second tower of the bridge caught fire at around 6 p.m. Thursday.
Some 60 firefighters with over 20 heavy fire engines were immediately dispatched to the scene. It took three hours to completely put out the fire.
One of them, 54-year-old firefighter Lee Byeong-gon from Pyeongtaek Fire Station was pronounced dead on arrival.
While battling the fire on the bridge, three firefighters were by hit by cable debris around 7 p.m. and sent to a nearby hospital.
One of them, 54-year-old firefighter Lee Byeong-gon from Pyeongtaek Fire Station was pronounced dead on arrival.
“We have decided to shut down the bridge until the damaged cables are replaced,” the official said.
Inspectors are investigating the cable debris to find the exact cause of the fire. The fire was believed to have been caused by lightning, the official said.
Web Source: Korea Times
http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2015/12/113_192452.html