Worker killed, another injured in tunnel accident at Uljin gold mine
A 62-year-old excavator operator died and a safety manager was injured after rocks fell inside a gold mine tunnel in North Gyeongsang.
The site of a tunnel accident at a gold mine in Uljin, North Gyeongsang
GYEONGBUK PROVINCIAL POLICE AGENCY
A miner in their 60s was killed, and another was injured on Thursday after rocks fell from the ceiling of a tunnel at a gold mine in Uljin County, North Gyeongsang.
The accident occurred at 11:28 a.m., according to the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency.
The rockfall struck about 245 meters (803 feet) from the tunnel entrance, in a section measuring 4 meters wide and 7 meters high.
The workers were reportedly clearing the tunnel using a small excavator when rocks suddenly fell from the ceiling for reasons that remain unclear. Police found that no explosives were being used for blasting at the time of the accident.
A 62-year-old worker operating the small excavator was buried under the fallen rocks. Rescuers pulled the worker from the debris and transported them to the Uljingun Medical Center in an unresponsive state, where they were pronounced dead at around 12:30 p.m.
A 61-year-old safety manager who was working alongside the worker escaped the tunnel immediately after the accident. The safety manager suffered an injury to the lower left leg and was airlifted to a hospital in Andong in the same province.
Police and fire authorities inspected the tunnel after the accident and determined that there was no risk of further collapse.
Residents of the nearest homes — about 200 meters from the gold mine — were not ordered to evacuate because authorities determined that no evacuation was necessary.
Police cordoned off the accident site and shut down the gold mine.
The gold mine is reportedly operated by a mineral resources development company based in Hanam, Gyeonggi.
Police plan to investigate what caused the ceiling rocks to collapse and whether proper safety procedures were followed at the time.
In August 2022, two workers were killed after being trapped in a mine in Bonghwa County, North Gyeongsang. Two months later, two workers trapped underground at a zinc mine in the same county were dramatically rescued after 221 hours.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
