SEOUL: A section of an overpass under demolition in the South Korean capital Seoul collapsed on Tuesday (May 26), killing three people who were conducting a safety inspection and injuring three others, fire and city officials said.

Television footage showed emergency workers conducting a search-and-rescue operation as a long segment of the structure lay collapsed on the street below, near a railway crossing in central Seoul.

Workers detected signs of instability in the structure overnight and suspended the demolition early on Tuesday for a safety inspection, a Seoul city official said.

The section collapsed on Tuesday afternoon while safety inspectors were inside the support structure, the official said.

All the people killed and injured were senior city public works officials and a private sector expert conducting the inspection, a fire official said.

The overpass, built in 1966, was being demolished due to safety defects in the ageing structure, the city said.