Five killed in furnace gas leak at steel plant

Five workers suffocated to death on Friday at a steel plant in this port city of Dangjin after gas leaked from a furnace, authorities said.

The workers, employed by a subcontractor of Hyundai Steel Co., were found dead at around 2:25 a.m. inside the 8-meter-deep furnace in Dangjin, some 123 kilometers south of Seoul, after argon gas leaked from the furnace, according to the authorities.

Though argon is non-toxic, it is denser than air so that it is considered dangerous in closed areas, according to experts. The gas is also hard to detect as it is colorless and odorless.

The victims had been putting the final touches on the facility after 10 days of repair work, according to a Hyundai Steel official.

"Argon is used in furnaces to prevent the graphite from burning, and it is often injected right before a test run of a furnace," the official said.

"The workers were supposed to conduct a test run of the furnace later today, and we are examining why they injected the gas so early."

Police said they, along with the local labor administration and Korea Gas Safety Corp., are working on finding the exact cause of the incident.