Sinkhole opens in Myeong-dong, no injuries reported

A sinkhole opens in Myeong-dong, central Seoul, on July 26. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

 
A sinkhole opened in Myeong-dong, central Seoul, on Saturday evening, caused by a burst water pipe, authorities said.
 
The sinkhole opened at 9:49 p.m. Saturday in the first southbound lane of Namdaemun-ro, in front of the Bank of Korea heading toward Euljiro 1-ga Station. It measured approximately 50 centimeters (20 inches) wide and 1.2 meters (3.9 feet) deep. No injuries were reported.
 

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Police closed two lanes of traffic in the direction of the sinkhole and one lane on the opposite side.
 
The Seoul Metropolitan Government carried out emergency nighttime repairs using an excavator and completed the work by 2:35 a.m. Sunday.
 
An official from the Western Roads and Bridges Maintenance Office said the sinkhole appeared to have formed after sediment flowed into the ground through a rupture in an unused water pipe.


Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]