(2nd LD) Body of missing worker recovered from Gwangju construction accident site

(ATTN: UPDATES with details in paras 2; REWRITES headline, lead; TRIMS)

GWANGJU, Jan. 14 (Yonhap) -- Rescue workers on Friday recovered the body of a worker who went missing at the site of an apartment building that collapsed in the southwestern city of Gwangju earlier this week.

The remains of the unidentified man, presumed to be one of six missing workers, was recovered near the handrail of stairs on the first basement floor of the damaged building in Gwangju, about 330 kilometers south of Seoul, as search and rescue operations continued for the fourth day. The body was taken to a hospital.

Exterior walls of the 39-story building under construction in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, crumbled Tuesday, trapping construction workers at the site.

Three workers were rescued in the initial search operation on Tuesday, with one of them sustaining injuries from falling rubble. But the six who were working on upper floors of the building went missing.

Authorities expects the search and rescue operations to take a considerable amount of time due to a heap of fallen objects. Heavy objects were being lifted with heavy equipment, and rescue workers were dismantling reinforcing bars.

ycm@yna.co.kr
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