Explosion at Hanwha plant kills 2, injures 5

Employees leave work earlier than usual after an explosion took place at Hanwha's munitions factory in Daejeon, Tuesday. / Yonhap

By Jung Min-ho, Park Si-soo

Two people were killed and five others were seriously injured in an explosion that rocked Hanwha Group's munitions factory in Daejeon, firefighters said Tuesday.

Three of the five burned workers are in critical condition with third-degree burns, they said, indicating the death toll could rise further.

The explosion took place at 4:17 p.m. when workers were loading solid fuel into a rocket propulsion system, sparking a fire that burned part of the plant.

Twenty-nine fire engines and 55 firefighters responded to the scene and extinguished the fire in 10 minutes.

Police launched an investigation to determine the cause of the explosion.

A Hanwha official speaks on the explosion to reporters, Tuesday. / Yonhap

A rescue vehicle drives into the compound of Hanwha's munitions factory in Daejeon, Tuesday. / Yonhap