The market collapsed due to heavy snow..."I can't even start recovering. I'm at a loss".

[Anchor]
Heavy snow for two consecutive days collapsed some of the agricultural and fishery markets in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, but restoration work has not even begun.

Merchants who missed the kimchi-making season and the end of the year look devastated.

Reporter Lim Ye-jin reports.

[Reporter]
The center of the wholesale market for fruits and vegetables with more than 200 stores is hollow.

White snow piled up on the roof that had been turned off to the floor.

It is Anyang Agricultural and Fishery Wholesale Market in Gyeonggi Province, which collapsed due to heavy snow a day ago.

Steel frames are tangled here and there in the building, and fruits and vegetables that have not been taken out remain as they are.

Next to it, a vehicle on the rubble of a fallen roof stands precariously as if it were about to fall.

Merchants who expected the kimchi-making season and the end of the year, such as cabbages, radishes, apples, and pears, were struck by lightning in a day.

Will it lead to further collapse, the restoration has not even begun.

[Kim Yeon-gon / Anyang Agricultural and Marine Products Market Merchant: The items we auctioned yesterday are all piled up because it's snowing like this. Unless they're organized quickly, we have to throw away a lot of items.]

The merchant, who has been doing business here for more than 30 years, hung around in front of the collapsed building for a long time, saying he couldn't sleep overnight.

[Song Geun-sik / Anyang Agricultural and Marine Products Market Merchant: I was struck by lightning in the morning. I have to bring out the budget book, but they won't let me go in because they said the safety check wasn't done, so I'm just stamping my feet.]

Anyang City and the merchant association will conduct a detailed safety diagnosis and then make a recovery plan.

It also decided to set up an alternative site for the auction, but it will take at least a month for the market to find its old self.

I'm YTN's Lim Yejin.