At least 5 killed, 2 injured in explosion at Hanwha Aerospace facility in South Korea

SEOUL – Five people have died and two others were injured on June 1 after an explosion and fire at a South Korean production line for rocket propellant at a factory operated by Hanwha Aerospace in the city of Daejeon, officials said.

The two survivors, including one who was badly burnt, had escaped from the facility themselves, a fire official said at a briefing.

The five dead – which included two temporary workers in their 20s – were all employed by Hanwha, the company said.

“The authorities have yet to identify the victims because their bodies were severely damaged,” a health official said at the same briefing.

A fire official said that an explosion had triggered the blaze, though the cause of the blast was still being investigated.

Shares in Hanwha Aerospace fell 2.8 per cent in afternoon trade, while the holding company Hanwha Corp saw its shares drop 3.4 per cent.

The blast appeared to have occurred while water was being used to clean explosive material from tools making rocket propellant, a Hanwha official said at a company briefing.

“We bow our heads in apology to the victims and their bereaved families,” said chief executive officer Son Jae-il.

He pledged to cooperate fully with the authorities to determine the cause of the accident.

Hanwha is a defence and aerospace company.

Its factory in Daejeon produces large propulsion engines and handles rocket propellants.

The authorities were unable to obtain the factory’s layout since it is protected under national security laws, an official said at the briefing.

According to the Daejeon Fire Headquarters, firefighters brought the main fire under control at around 11.40am, about 40 minutes after receiving the initial reports of the incident.

The authorities were removing debris from the site and searching for any additional personnel who may have been trapped as at 2pm.

The Daejeon fire authorities said they received about 30 reports at around 11am from callers who said they heard a loud blast and saw smoke coming from the site.

The fire authorities dispatched 25 pieces of equipment and 85 firefighters to the scene.

A Level 1 response was issued at 11.17am.

The elevated alert status activates an incident command system and mobilises additional fire engines, ambulances, rescue teams and inter-agency coordination.

President Lee Jae Myung was briefed on the accident and had ordered a thorough investigation into its cause, as well as measures to prevent a recurrence, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said.

Lee also instructed officials to “mobilise all available resources” for rescue operations and response efforts.

Government agencies, including the office of Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, formed a joint response system to deal with the accident.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor, which oversees workplace safety, dispatched industrial safety officials to the scene and ordered operations at the facility to be suspended.

The ministry said it would conduct a swift inspection and investigation to determine the underlying causes of the accident.

“We will make every effort to ensure the swift and accurate handling of the accident and to prevent any secondary incidents,” Labour Minister Kim Young-hoon said.

Although the investigation into the exact cause of the explosion has yet to begin in earnest, police and the fire authorities are looking into whether flammable rocket propellant had ignited.

The facility is known for manufacturing large-scale propulsion systems and strategic weapons.

The Daejeon plant was the site of rocket propellant-related explosions in 2018 and 2019 that left multiple people dead or injured.

Political campaigns shift into mourning mode

Political parties, which had been intensifying their final campaign efforts ahead of local elections on June 3, shifted into a mood of mourning following the accident.

They turned off loudspeakers mounted on vehicles that had been broadcasting campaign songs which were accompanied by dance performances.

Both candidates for Daejeon mayor, Lee Jang-woo of the main opposition People Power Party and Her Tea-jeong of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, suspended their campaign activities and expressed condolences to the victims and their families.

The atmosphere of mourning quickly spread to election campaigns across the country.

Representative Jung Chung-rae, chair of the Democratic Party, ordered all party candidates and campaign teams nationwide to immediately halt campaign activities.

“Chair Jung Chung-rae has urgently instructed Democratic Party candidates and campaign teams across the country to stop campaign rallies, including the use of campaign songs and dance performances, in light of the Hanwha Aerospace accident in Daejeon,” the party said in a statement.

People Power Party chair Jang Dong-hyeok also instructed candidates to refrain from using campaign songs and dance performances, and to conduct their campaigns in a subdued manner.

He cancelled his campaign schedule for June 1 on Jeju Island and in Ulsan, and was reportedly considering visiting Daejeon. REUTERS, THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK