Four killed in explosion at STX shipyard
Rescue workers investigate the cause of an explosion at the STX Offshore and Shipbuilding’s shipyard in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Sunday. / Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
Four workers were killed in a major explosion at a shipyard in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Sunday.
According to firefighters, the accident occurred at 11:37 a.m. inside a 74,000-ton oil-tanker, which was under construction at STX Offshore and Shipbuilding’s shipyard, killing workers of the company’s subcontractors.
Firefighters are now looking into the cause of the explosion.
The victims ― aged 33, 45, 52 and 53 years old ― were painting inside a 12-meter-deep tank in the vessel at the time of the accident.
“I heard a bang and immediately turned my head. And then I saw smoke coming out of the ship,” said a worker surnamed Woo, who was working 20 meters away. “The smoke kept coming out for about 20 to 30 minutes.”
After receiving an emergency call, the Changwon Fire Station deployed rescue workers, who pulled out the bodies from the tank at around 1:30 p.m. and transferred them to a nearby hospital.
“We will cooperate with police to look further into the cause of the accident and the scale of the damage,” a firefighter said.
The ship was scheduled to be delivered to a Greek shipping company in October.
Many workers of ship-building firms and their subcontractors have been killed or injured in recent accidents.
In May, six people died and more than 20 were injured when a crane collapsed at a shipyard in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province. The accident occurred when two cranes collided at a Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard, causing structures to fall on people working below.