PHOTOS Chinese man dies in factory blaze; arson suspected
Firefighters attack the blaze at the plastics factory in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. / Yonhap
By Park Si-soo
A Chinese man was killed in a fire that destroyed a plastics factory in an industrial complex in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday.
Police, who analyzed CCTV footage, said the man started the fire at 4:10 p.m. after spraying an unidentified flammable liquid on a pile of plastic. The blaze, being treated as arson, destroyed nearly a third of the 2,100-square-meter factory. The fire also damaged nearby buildings.
Forty-three fire engines and 106 firefighters were mobilized. The fire was extinguished at 6:20 p.m.
Police said the man, whose name and other details were withheld, got a job at the factory in 2016 and quit last October. He held permanent residency here.
An investigation is under way to discover why he set fire to his former workplace. Police said there was no record of conflict, such as overdue payment, between the Chinese and the factory.
When the fire broke out, about 20 foreign workers were in a dormitory associated with the factory. They evacuated safely.