According to local fire authorities, a man was found dead after falling into a large sinkhole in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. This incident has sparked widespread concern, highlighting the importance of maintaining urban infrastructure. It also raises questions about the safety of roads and the promptness of emergency response.
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03-30, 2025The incident occurred on Monday at 18:30 local time (09:30 GMT) when the man was riding his motorcycle in the Gangdong district, and the road suddenly collapsed. Rescue workers discovered his body underground around 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, approximately 50 meters from where he fell. Another car driver was injured in the incident. The event quickly went viral on South Korean social media, generating discussion about infrastructure safety.
Circulating dashcam footage shows the moment the road collapsed near a traffic intersection. The video shows the motorcyclist falling into the hole, while a car traveling ahead narrowly avoided the collapse. According to local media reports, rescuers found a mobile phone and the motorcycle in the 20-meter-wide and 20-meter-deep pit earlier on Tuesday. The victim was reportedly in his 30s, and his identity has not yet been officially confirmed.
Kim Chang-seop, the head of the Gangdong Fire Station, stated in an earlier briefing that the pit contained a mixture of 2,000 tons of mud and water. Authorities have not yet released the cause of the sinkhole formation. A recent report submitted to the Seoul Metropolitan Government revealed that 223 sinkhole incidents have occurred in the city over the past decade. These incidents are attributed to poor infrastructure management, aging or damaged pipes, long-term subsidence, and accidents caused by excavation work.
In January of this year, a truck driver went missing after a truck fell into a sinkhole at an intersection in the Japanese city of Yashio. In August of last year, a woman in downtown Kuala Lumpur went missing after falling into a sidewalk sinkhole, and the search was terminated after a week. The decomposition of rocks such as limestone or chalk is one of the most common causes of sinkholes. Sometimes, this process happens gradually, and the depression grows larger over time. But in other cases, the limestone is located beneath another layer of rock, meaning that when it dissolves, there is no immediate sign at the surface. The overlying rock (sometimes clay or sandstone) can suddenly collapse into the void below – this is known as a cover-collapse sinkhole. However, human activities such as excavation work can also accelerate sinkhole formation or cause the ground to collapse in a similar manner.
