According to the report, the fire department of the Gwangju city at 4.22 pm local time (07:22 GMT) received information that a 5-storey building collapsed on a bus that had stopped in the vicinity of the demolition site.
Approximately 140 people are involved in the search and rescue operation as firemen continue looking for construction workers and pedestrians who could be buried under the rubble.
The South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport set up an emergency headquarters, headed by Noh Hyeong Ouk, to deal with the aftermath of the incident and prevent such situations in the future. The cause of a sudden collapse has not yet been determined.