South Korean chemical plant blast kills four
28 September 2012
A blast on September 26 at a Hube Global plant in the Gumi National Industrial Complex in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, happened when staff were unloading hydrochloric acid from a tank truck, according to the police. The Seoul-based company makes chemicals and materials for cosmetics and medicine.
Four workers were killed and eight injured, police said. the injured, six workers at a nearby plant and a resident in the neighborhood were hospitalized for inhaling toxic gases. Firemen deployed motorised sprinklers to neutralise the poisonous emissions. The city government is carrying out cleanup operations to keep residue from running into the Nakdong River, one of the country's four largest waterways.
The police said they evacuated workers at other factories and 50 households around the area and distributed about 700 gas masks to prevent further casualties.
The industrial complex also houses a number of companies producing televisions and other electronic components.
An investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the accident.