DAEGU — Police are accelerating their investigation into what caused ceiling materials to collapse at a commercial building in Daegu's Buk-gu district, injuring dozens of people.
A joint forensic inspection conducted the previous day on the second floor of the building in Gwaneum-dong found that a lightweight steel ceiling frame had collapsed in one piece at the time of the accident, police said on the 12th.
Such frames, built by attaching gypsum board and paper-faced board to a steel structure, are commonly used in hospitals and offices.
The frames are fixed to concrete ceilings with anchor bolts and wires. Because the building is more than 30 years old, investigators raised the possibility that aging materials or loosened joints caused the collapse.
Police collected two boxes of evidence, including debris from the ceiling materials, during the site inspection and are conducting a detailed forensic analysis to determine the exact cause. Results are expected in two weeks.
Investigators are questioning officials from the building and the vendor that held the event, and plan to consider charges of causing injury through professional negligence based on the forensic findings.
"We will decide whether to book anyone after a comprehensive review of structural defects and the condition of the materials," a police official said.
The collapse occurred at about 10:16 a.m. on the 10th on the second floor of the four-story building in Gwaneum-dong, where a kitchenware sales event was underway. Thirty-eight people in the building, including older adults, suffered minor injuries.