South Korean chemical plant blast kills seven
15 March 2013
A massive explosion at a chemical plant on March 14 in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, left seven workers dead and 13 injured. The explosion took place at a high-density polyethylene plant in the city's industrial complex owned by Daelim Industrial.
A similar explosion that killed one person at the complex in 2003.
Yonhap said police believed that lingering gas in a storage tank reacted with a flammable substance and exploded. A fire broke out after the explosion but was contained in 10 minutes. Welding work was being done when the tank exploded, fire-fighters said.
"Rather than the fire, it was the shock from the massive explosion that caused the high death toll," police said.
Many of the injured were severely burned so the number of deaths is likely to rise, Yonhap said.