A fire at a paint raw material production plant in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, was fully extinguished after four hours. Three employees died and two were injured in the blaze.
According to the South Chungcheong Fire Headquarters on the 28th, a fire caused by an explosion broke out at about 11:44 a.m. at the Daewon Sanup plant in Dongnam-gu, Cheonan. Daewon Sanup manufactures fatty acids used in tires and paint, and the plant building where the explosion occurred reportedly stored many flammable raw materials.
Fire authorities issued Level 1 response at 12:05 p.m. and deployed 46 pieces of equipment and 300 personnel. The fire was completely extinguished at about 3:48 p.m., roughly four hours after the report came in. Police are investigating the work at the time and the circumstances of the accident, and plan to conduct a joint forensic inspection with fire authorities to determine the exact cause of the explosion.
In the accident, three employees died: one in their 70s and two Philippine nationals in their 40s and 20s. Authorities believe the employee in their 70s was killed by falling debris at the time of the explosion. Two Philippine nationals whose whereabouts were unconfirmed right after the fire were found dead during the search on the stairwells of the plant building's 6th and 8th floors, respectively.
Another Philippine national in their 30s sustained second-degree burns over the body and was taken to a hospital, and a firefighter engaged in suppression efforts injured a wrist due to falling debris. At the time of the accident, 21 people were working at the plant, and 17 of them were believed to have evacuated.