Three Killed in Seoul as Overpass Section Collapses During Demolition

Three people were killed and three others injured Tuesday when a section of an overpass undergoing demolition collapsed in central Seoul, fire officials said. The accident occurred during a safety inspection after workers noticed that part of the structure had slightly sunk while concrete slabs were being cut, said Lee Jong-woon, an official at Seoul’s Seodaemun District Fire Station.

Demolition of the overpass, built in 1966, had been underway since August 2025 because of safety concerns. Workers halted cutting operations early Tuesday and called for the inspection. The section collapsed while senior city public works officials and a private-sector expert were inside the support structure, a Seoul city official said.

Police and emergency crews sealed off the area, where twisted steel beams and shattered concrete slabs remained hanging from the edge. Some debris fell onto a nearby railway, prompting Korea Railroad Corp. to suspend certain operations to Seoul Station.

Television footage showed rescue teams searching the collapsed segment near a railway crossing. All six people involved in the inspection were either senior city public works officials or a private-sector expert, fire officials said.