At around 11:50 p.m. on Wednesday, part of the roof of the Atlas Air Cargo Terminal caved in due to heavy rain. Rain made a hole measuring 20-30 m in length, destroying a four-ton crane in the cargo terminal. Over 30 tons of cargo in the terminal were immediately removed. The destroyed roof is a so-called “sandwich panel,” made of two 12.5-cm thick iron plates with insulation in-between. Incheon International Airport Corporation explained the roof was unable to bear the weight of standing water resulting from blocked drainage.

Part of the roof of the Atlas Air Cargo Terminal in Incheon International Airport collapses due to heavy rain on Thursday.

Polar Air Cargo invested W17.3 billion (US1$ = W1,007) in building the AACT, which was completed in April this year.

In Yangju in Gyeonggi Province around 9 a.m. Thursday, a 55-year-old man identified as Yu was washed away in rapids and remains missing. In Uiwang City in Gyeonggi Province, five employees of the city government were rescued at 11.30 a.m., 30 minutes after they were buried in a mound of earth as a retaining wall standing 3 meters high and 2.5 meters wide collapsed. Some 150 households were inundated in Gyeonggi Province alone, including 33 in Paju, 10 in Uijeongbu, 3 in Dongducheon, and 13 in Gimpo. Entry to national parks in Gangwon Province -- Mt. Seorak, Mt. Odae and Mt. Chiak -- is restricted as of Thursday morning.

The Korea Meteorological Administration predicted that rain will continue until Saturday nationwide, and skies will clear up from Sunday. According to the KMA, Dongducheon had 232.5 mm of rain as of 4 p.m. Thursday, Seoul 118 mm, Chuncheon 154 mm, Incheon 107.5 mm, Suwon 118.5 mm and Seosan 48.5 mm. The KMA predicts 80 to 200 mm more rain in Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces by Friday.

(englishnews@chosun.com )