Rescue authorities have stepped up efforts to find two trapped workers under a pile of debris at a collapsed library construction site on their second day searching for them, officials said Friday.
Search efforts were ongoing to locate the missing workers believed to be trapped under twisted steel and concrete debris after the structure collapsed the previous day in Gwangju, about 300 kilometers south of Seoul.
Four workers were initially trapped at the site, with firefighters recovering two of them -- one was pronounced dead at the scene, and the other later at the hospital.
Authorities suspect the collapse began as workers poured concrete on the two-story structure's rooftop.
Officials have mobilized thermal-imaging cameras to locate the workers, while taking measures to stabilize the site in consideration of the possibility of further collapse.
Search efforts are reportedly facing difficulties as the concrete has hardened with the rubble.
"While we conducted an overnight search to quickly find those trapped, we have yet to determine their location," a fire official said. "We will continue to focus on search and rescue operations."
The library under construction was being built by the Gwangju metropolitan government on the site of a former waste incineration plant. (Yonhap)
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