Rescue 12 people trapped in a frozen elevator… Recovery within 2 hours “Investigation into the cause of the accident”
The electricity supply was suddenly cut off in Teheran-ro, Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Traffic lights on major roads in central Seoul went out for more than two hours, causing severe traffic jams on the way home from work on Friday, and some citizens were rescued after being caught in elevators.
According to Dong-A Ilbo’s comment on the 13th, sparks were seen flying from a telephone pole installed near Yeoksam Station on Subway Line 2 at around 5:21 pm on the same day, and then the electricity supply to 930 shopping malls was cut. and 165 flats within a 150m radius. All traffic lights in the blackout area were also switched off.
The fire authorities, who were sent to the scene after receiving a report of ‘sparks flying from the telephone pole’, extinguished all the fires at around 5:26pm. An official from Gangnam-gu said, “58 people from the district office and the fire department were mobilized and 77 units of equipment were put into operation.”
The fire was quickly extinguished, but it took time to restore the power cut. KEPCO officials arrived around 5:47 pm, about 20 minutes after the accident, and began recovery work. However, it was around 7:35pm, more than two hours after the accident, that the traffic lights on Teheran Road were fully restored. The area around Teheran-ro, which is usually busy with traffic and mobile population, caused extreme congestion.
Mr Choi (30), an office worker, explained, “The police were sent to direct the traffic, but the traffic jams were severe until after 7:30 pm.” Shin Joo-hye (33), who was driving a car from work, said, “It was Friday, so I wanted to go home early, so I left 20 minutes earlier than usual, but the traffic lights were broken and the cars all seem to be at a loss for what to do.”
Twelve people who were on elevators in three buildings were caught and rescued after the power cut stopped the elevators in the entire building. An official from Gangnam-gu said, “All were rescued within 30 minutes of being caught.”
It was around 10:00 PM, about 4 hours and 40 minutes after the accident, when all power outages were restored. A KEPCO official said, “A power outage occurred when the wire was cut by an external substance.”
Correspondent Choi Mi-song cms@donga.com
Reporter Sa Ji-win 4g1@donga.com
