[News Today] FLOATING BUILDING SAFETY CONCERN

[LEAD]
A buoyant building at Jamwon Hangang Park in Seoul was flooded recently due to heavy rain. Restoration is now fully underway. Since there are plans for more buoyant structures on the Hangang River, calls are growing for a thorough investigation into the cause.

[REPORT]
A three-story floating building housing a restaurant and a cafe is tilted precariously and part of it is seen submerged in the Hangang River water.

Barricade tapes can be seen around the facility and the submerged entrance is out of sight.

The flooding occurred at around 11:35 p.m. on a Saturday. It was after business hours so there were no reports of casualties. But citizens express concern and shock.

Jeong Soon-ok/ Seoul resident
It's frightening. How could this happen? It's unimaginable. I think I would feel uneasy entering similar structures.

Heavy equipment loaded on a giant barge access the site.

Repair operations were able to begin only after the river water level normalized, after seeing high levels due to heavy downpours.

The Seoul city government presumes that there might be a problem with a buoyancy body that keeps the structure afloat.

It will likely take two to three days to drain out water from the facility and conduct an on-site probe.

Lee Sang-e/ Future Hangang Project Headquarters
If structural problems are found, we will inspect all facilities installed on Hangang River and do our best to ensure the safety of citizens.

The city government has decided to establish various floating-type facilities including offices on the Hangang River by 2030.

Based on the results of the investigation, it plans to devise measures to prevent similar incidents in the future, such as tightening safety test standards for buoyancy bodies.

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