Fire at S. Korea’s chemical plant extinguished, 7,000 evacuated
A fire at a chemical manufacturing facility in the southeastern South Korean city of Ulsan was extinguished Wednesday after forcing the evacuation of thousands of workers, with no injuries reported, authorities said, Qazinform News Agency cites Yonhap.
The blaze broke out at approximately 9:41 a.m. and was fully brought under control by 1:50 p.m., according to the Ulsan Fire Headquarters.
As a precaution, 12 employees at the facility and around 7,000 workers at a nearby construction site were evacuated to safe locations. No casualties were reported.
Fire officials believe the incident began while toluene, a highly flammable chemical, was being transferred into drum containers. The fire subsequently spread to storage tanks containing other hazardous substances, including acetone and ethanol.
More than 200 firefighters and 49 vehicles and pieces of equipment were deployed to contain the blaze.
Police and fire authorities are investigating the cause of the fire.