Firefighting helicopter that floated during the Sampoong-Seongsu Bridge disaster, becomes a cultural property

The first citizen who witnessed the collapse of Seongsu Bridge and reported it to the Blue House and 119.112. Traffic Broadcasting, etc. was Mr. Hae-Pil Ha (柳海必.42, 1st Director of Corporate Sales at Sunkyung Securities) on his way to work. Mr.柳 said, “The moment I drove from the north of the river to the south of the river, passing the second railing of the Seongsu Bridge and entering the third railing (7:41 am), the bridge collapsed 10 meters in front of the river, and I saw the buses and cars fall into the river.” Revealed. He said, “I determined that emergency rescue was necessary, and I used a car phone to contact various places, but the first time the helicopter was launched was 40-50 minutes after the accident, and there was only one.” This is open.”

It is an article on page 22 of the JoongAng Ilbo on the same day that reported the Seongsu Bridge accident that killed 32 people and injured 17 on October 21, 1994 (at the time, evening). He testified of the urgent and disastrous situation, saying that’a helicopter first appeared 40-50 minutes after the accident’. Another article pointed out that the helicopter dispatch of the military and police was delayed compared to the fire brigade, so it is likely that this helicopter was the firefighting helicopter Magpie 1 and 2, which were active at the time. Magpies 1 and 2 were Korea’s first firefighting helicopters introduced in 1980, and were responsible for lifesaving work and aerial command control in large-scale accidents such as the collapse of Seongsu Bridge (1994) and the collapse of Sampoong Department Store (1995).

By the time of retirement in 2005, the firefighting helicopter’Machi 2′, which was dispatched more than 3,000 times to extinguish fires and evacuate emergency patients, and saved 900 lives, becomes a registered cultural property. It is the only firefighting helicopter that was left behind when the Magpie 1, which was introduced together, crashed in 1996 and was scrapped. On the 31st, the Cultural Heritage Administration (Chief Kim Hyun-mo) announced a notice of registration as a cultural property, saying, “It is meaningful in that it played a key role in lifesaving through helicopters, and it is a relic of historical and social value that has left an important trace in the history of firefighting.”

According to the Fire Department’s records, Magpie 2 flew for a total of 2983 hours and 45 minutes to rescue life, fight fires such as forest fires, air control, and forest control. In December 1983, a total of 942 people were saved, including 5 people at the fire site of Lotte Building in Da-dong, Jung-gu, and 630 people during the flood in Pungnap-dong and Seongnae-dong, Gangdong-gu in September 1984. In particular, the collapse of Seongsu Bridge in October 1994, a gas explosion in Ahyeon-dong in December of the same year, and the collapse of Sampoong Department Store in June of 1995 were active as witnesses of disasters in Korea.

According to the Dong-A Ilbo on December 6, 1979, Magpies 1 and 2 are the names of a helicopter donated by the Korea Fire Insurance Association and a multi-purpose light helicopter that was ordered by Korean Air with a budget of 150 million won. . The newspaper said that the two helicopters will be used for the organization and fire fighting work. After the destruction of Magpie No. 1, Magpie No. 2 changed its name to’Seoul Unit 002′ and’Seoul Unit 005′, and was retired on June 30, 2005, and is currently on display at the Seoul Boramae Civic Safety Experience Center.

Along with this, the Cultural Heritage Administration announced the registration of one complete pump produced by a domestic company in the 1950s. The Wanyong Pump is a device that is loaded onto a wagon and moved by personnel to manually spray fire extinguishing water. Among the four initial Wanyong pumps remaining nationwide, the one managed by the Anyang Fire Department in Gyeonggi-do was evaluated as being valuable as a cultural property because the original was well maintained.

Meanwhile, the Cultural Heritage Administration announced that it has registered three cases as cultural assets, including the previously announced’Gunsan Dunyul-dong Cathedral Cathedral Construction and Construction Permit Application’,’Gyeongsangnam Provincial Najeon Lacquer Institute Training Center’ and’Chonnam National University Yongbong Hall’.

Reporter Kang Hye-ran [email protected]