Explosion at South Korean steel plant kills three
26 November 2020
An explosion at a factory belonging to South Korean steel manufacturer POSCO killed three people on November 24. The blast happened at around 16:00 local time at a steel mill in Gwangyang, southwest of Seoul.
Gwangyang steel plant - Image: Shutterstock
Local authorities suggested that the explosion occurred near to a furnace while workers were handling high-pressure gas, Yonhap news agency reports. The blast caused a fire that was extinguished after 20 minutes.
The three people who died included a 40-year old POSCO employee, and two contractors aged 32 and 53.
POSCO CEO Choi Jeong-woo apologised for the incident and said the company is doing its best to respond and find out the exact cause of the incident. He added that POSCO was working with the relevant authorities in the ongoing investigation.
The incident is not the first to have happened at the Gwangyang steel plant in recent times. In December 2019, five workers were injured by an explosion that also caused the closure of a nearby bridge.
POSCO is one of the world’s largest steelmakers and produces various types of steel at its Gwangyang plant. In 2015, the company produced 42 million tonnes of crude steel.
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