Firefighters in 15-hour battle to beat Hwasun mine fire

/ Yonhap

By Chyung Eun-ju

Firefighters took more than 15 hours to extinguish a big fire in a coal mine in Hwasun, South Jeolla Province, Hwasun Fire Station said Tuesday.

The fire started 200 meters from the entrance to the L-shaped mine on Monday. Four workers left the mine at 4 p.m. during a shift change before the fire began.

“There were small fires during the 28 years I’ve worked as a miner,” one man said. “But this is the first huge fire. If the fire occurred while we were working, 140 people down there would have been injured.”

Police said a coal conveyor’s motor overheated, causing timber slabs between rails below the belt to catch fire.

/ Yonhap

Firefighters had a hard time extinguishing the blaze because the narrow mine was filled with smoke and poisonous gas. They entered the mine about 9 p.m. Monday and were able to go in 150 meters by 11:30 p.m.

They spent the night putting out the fire but smoke has not yet cleared.

Twenty-nine fire trucks and 179 firefighters were sent to the site.

Police and the fire brigade will investigate the fire’s cause and the extent of damage.

/ Yonhap