2 rail workers killed after maintenance train cars collide at Guro Station

▲ Guro Station in southwestern Seoul (Yonhap)

train collision-police

2 rail workers killed after maintenance train cars collide at Guro Station

SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Yonhap) -- Two maintenance train cars bumped into each other at Seoul's Guro Station in the wee hours Friday, leaving two workers dead and another injured, officials said.

The workers were working on top of a maintenance train car to replace insulating structures when it came into contact with a track inspection vehicle traveling on the adjacent track at 2:14 a.m., according to fire authorities and the Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL).

The two workers in their 30s died at the scene, and another in their 40s was taken to a nearby hospital with a broken leg. All three were KORAIL employees.

After the accident, the operation of 10 subway trains and five high-speed trains was delayed for some 10 to 30 minutes until 5:40 a.m. Metro operations returned to normal at 7 a.m., officials said.

Police and KORAIL officials are looking into the exact cause of the accident, while the labor ministry plans to review whether the penalties for serious industrial accidents can be applied to the case.

KORAIL expressed regret over the accident, and promised to hold a funeral and take other follow-up measures with "utmost respect."

The land ministry also dispatched a response team to the scene and said it will thoroughly investigate whether safety regulations were followed and come up with measures to prevent similar accidents in the future.

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