Cheongju City sledding slope where a passageway collapse occurred on the 24th. / News 1
On Christmas Eve, the 24th, it was belatedly revealed that an off-duty firefighter rescued citizens at the site of a facility collapse at a sledding slope in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, while visiting with his family.
According to the Chungbuk Fire Department on the 27th, Fire Chief Kwon Min-ho (41), a member of the Chungbuk Safety Experience Center, visited the sledding range in Jibuk-dong, Sangdang-gu, Cheongju with his family on the 24th.
Firefighter Kwon, who was snow sledding with his elementary school son, suddenly witnessed a greenhouse-shaped walking passage collapse with a loud ‘rumbling’ sound. The accident scene was in chaos with crying and shouting. About 10 citizens were trapped as the ice and steel structure collapsed.
Fire Chief Kwon was in another passageway next to the collapsed passageway at the time of the accident. It is said that four citizens who were right behind Fire Chief Kwon were also trapped in the rubble. He immediately took out those nearby along with other citizens and quickly moved toward the top of the collapsed passageway, following his wife’s urgent cry, “There are more people.”
There, a male student was lying foaming at the mouth amidst a pile of ice and a steel structure the size of an adult’s torso. Fire Chief Kwon worked with other citizens to remove the ice block and pull the student out. Then, they entrusted CPR to this citizen and quickly went out to find other citizens in urgent need of rescue.
Nearby, a woman was crushed by a pile of rubble and lost consciousness, her face and entire body turning pale. Fire Chief Kwon barely managed to get the woman outside by lifting all of her ice and steel structure with her bare hands.
Fire Chief Kwon said, “I think he was rescued later than other people and couldn’t breathe for a long time. After CPR, he quickly regained consciousness, but I almost missed the golden time.”
Fire Chief Kwon Min-ho./Provided by Chungbuk Fire Department
The male and female firefighters rescued by Fire Chief Kwon were two patients who were counted as seriously injured at the time. Those who were found unconscious recovered before the fire department arrived and were taken to the hospital for treatment.
Fire Chief Kwon also suffered injuries, including bruises on his legs, during the rescue operation. He said, “I was just doing the natural thing as a firefighter,” and added, “I am grateful to the citizens who followed the instructions, such as not to climb on piles of rubble due to the risk of stampede, and worked hard together to do the rescue work to the best of their ability.”
At approximately 4:29 p.m. on the 24th, the roof of the pedestrian passageway at this sledding range collapsed, injuring 11 users, including two seriously injured. City authorities believe that the artificial snow sprinkled on the sledding hill piled up on a greenhouse-shaped passageway and collapsed under the weight.
The police are investigating the exact cause of the accident, including conducting an on-site inspection on the day of the accident and the following day, and calling in the representative of the sledding hill operator as a witness the day before.
2023-12-27 03:00:19
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