At the Korea East-West Power (EWP) Ulsan Thermal Power Plant boiler tower collapse site, an alarm sounded, and the search for the missing has been halted for more than an hour.
According to fire authorities and others, at about 5:25 p.m. on the 8th, a sensor detecting the risk of collapse was activated at the site.
Afterward, an evacuation announcement was broadcast over speakers on-site, and rescue and search personnel and equipment immediately withdrew to a safe zone.
The sensor that initially triggered the alarm was first reported to have gone off at boiler tower unit 4, but a check found it sounded at unit 5, where the accident occurred and the collapse happened.
The exact cause of the sensor activation that day has not yet been identified. However, it is known that the site is considering the possibility that the sensor was triggered by rain that fell intermittently that day or by the impact of the rescue work.
The sensor that activated that day is a device that detects tilt and sounds an alarm, and the installation company was said to be looking for the cause.
Until the cause is confirmed, the risk cannot be ignored, so rescue and search operations are expected to be delayed.
A fire authority official said, "It is not yet certain whether there is an actual danger or a simple malfunction," and noted, "We will likely have to stop the search for now until safety is secured."
Earlier, at about 2:02 p.m. on the 6th, a boiler tower collapsed at the Korea East-West Power (EWP) Ulsan Power Headquarters Ulsan Thermal Power Plant in Nam-gu, Namhwa-dong, Ulsan. There were 9 workers at the time. Excluding the 2 missing, there are 3 dead and 2 presumed dead. Two injured people who were taken to the hospital immediately after the accident were reported to be not in life-threatening condition.