Friday, July 3, 2015

6 workers blown dead after welding ignites flamable gases and causes massive explosion at chemical plant in South Korea




HYUNG-JIN KIM | July 3, 2015 01:34 AM EST | AP




SEOUL, South Korea (AP) 

An explosion at a chemical plant in South Korea killed six workers on Friday, fire officials said.

The victims were doing welding work when the blast tore down a waste storage facility at a chemical plant run by Hanwha Chemical Co. in the southeastern city of Ulsan, according to the officials.

The exact cause of the explosion wasn't immediately known. But fire officer Kim Jung-sik said that ignition of the gas trapped inside the storage unit by the welding activities might have triggered the blast.  Most likely, the personnel failed to properly and adequate evacuate the gases prior to the welding.  This is a typical way of explosions during welding activities.

South Korean media reported the six workers were on top of the storage at the time of the explosion, but fire officials said they couldn't immediately confirm the reports.