Sinkhole claims life of motorcyclist in South Korea

Man found dead in Seoul hours after falling into a massive sinkhole in Gangdong district

Sinkhole claims life of motorcyclist in South Korea
Sinkhole claims life of motorcyclist in South Korea

A man, who fell into a massive sinkhole in Seoul, South Korea has been found dead, hours after the incident occurred.

As reported by BBC, on Monday, March 24, 2025, the road in Gangdong district caved in, swallowing a man in his 30s.

After an over-night rescue operations, first responders have found the body underground on Tuesday morning, March 25, 2025 at around 11 a.m local time, about 50 metre, where he had initially fallen in.

Kim Chang-seop, head of Gangdong fire station said at an earlier briefing that there were around 2,000 tons of soil and water mixed inside the hole, and authorities have yet to comment on the cause of the sinkhole.

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According to city's report, in the past decade, 233 sinkholes occurred in the capital of South Korea. 

One of the most common reasons for a sinkhole is when rocks like limestone or chalk break down.

Sometimes the process can happen gradually, where the depression becomes larger over time, in other instances, the limestone sits below another layer of rock, which means that as it gets dissolved there are no immediate signs at the surface.

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Notably, human activities such as digging on massive level can also accelerate the formation of sinkholes or cause the ground to collapse in a similar way.