Overview
- Rescuers halted operations until 6 p.m. to stabilize fallen steel and reduce the risk of further collapse, according to Gwangju Fire Headquarters.
- Crews have deployed large cranes, thermal-imaging cameras and cutting tools, but hardened concrete and tangled rebar continue to obstruct access to likely locations of the missing.
- Two workers were recovered Thursday and pronounced dead, while two others remain unaccounted for; all four are subcontractor technicians and Korean nationals.
- President Lee Jae Myung instructed ministries to mobilize all available personnel and equipment for the rescue effort.
- The project is a 51.6 billion won city library on a former waste incineration site, and authorities say a full investigation will follow once rescue work concludes.