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Dozens of workers have perished following an explosion inside a cold storage facility in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. The workers were reportedly installing refrigeration, electrical and air conditioning equipment at an underground level of the cold storage facility when the explosion went off, which quickly led to a blazing inferno.
At the end of last year, workers reportedly installed urethane foaming on the walls and other parts of the storage area where the fire broke out. Urethane is a synthetic rubber substance that is used for insulation and cushioning. Fire investigators believe vapors from paint thinner, left over after the urethane foaming was sprayed, had lingered inside the storage area and were ignited by an electrical spark. The fact that the facility was engulfed in flames right after the explosion seems to indicate it was filled with flammable vapors.
Over 50 workers toiling inside an enclosed area filled with flammable vapors is an extremely hazardous situation. Paint thinner vapors are highly flammable and can easily ignite by just a tiny spark caused by metal tools hitting each other. Many LPG canisters were reportedly inside the area as well. The workers had been working while their lives were at risk. These are primitive and ignorant conditions. Valuable lives have been lost due to a lack of safety awareness on the part of their employers and supervisors.
Somebody trapped inside the underground facility reportedly dialed 119 (emergency rescue) after the fire broke out. But the area was filled with so much toxic smoke and fumes that firefighters were unable to get near it. It wasn't until three and a half hours after the fire started that firefighters were able to get to the bodies.
Major accidents like this seem to erupt every few years, practically becoming an incurable disease afflicting Korean society. The type of accident and location may differ each time, but a common factor is a failure to abide by basic safety regulations. Nothing has changed in this area over the last 10 or even 20 years. But they are all terrible tragedies for the victims and their survivors. No matter how much our economy grows, a country where peoples' lives are wasted this way cannot be called an advanced nation.
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