Lotte Wellfood(280360) apologized and said it would draw up measures to prevent a recurrence in connection with the ammonia gas leak that occurred at dawn on the 21st at the Yeongdeungpo plant in Seoul.
Lotte Wellfood issued a statement the same day and said, "We deeply bow our heads and apologize for causing great concern to nearby residents and customers due to the gas leak that occurred at our Yeongdeungpo plant at dawn."
According to fire authorities and others, at about 5:21 a.m. the same day, ammonia gas leaked at Lotte Wellfood's Yeongdeungpo plant in Yangpyeong-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Part of the ammonia piping in the building with the ice cream production facility was damaged, allowing gas to escape.
About 40 employees who were in the plant at the time evacuated on their own, and there were no casualties.
Lotte Wellfood explained, "Immediately after the accident, on-site personnel evacuated at once in accordance with the manual, and there were no confirmed injuries," and added, "We reported the accident to 119 as soon as we became aware of it, and the dispatched fire authorities completed shutting off the main gas valve at about 5:52 a.m."
Afterward, related agencies including the fire department, district office, and environment office measured the residual gas concentration at the plant and in nearby areas and confirmed that no ammonia was detected. The information was also conveyed to nearby residents through safety alert text messages from the competent district office.
Lotte Wellfood plans to cooperate with the related agencies' investigation into the cause of the accident while conducting safety inspections of the facility and preparing measures to prevent a recurrence.
A Lotte Wellfood official said, "We will once again closely inspect our companywide safety management system and promptly carry out necessary supplementary measures to ensure thorough prevention of a recurrence."