SEOUL, Nov. 6 (UPI) — South Korean rescue crews are searching for workers believed to be trapped after a large structure collapsed at a power plant in the southeastern city of Ulsan on Thursday, according to reports from authorities and local media.
At least seven people were trapped when a 200-foot-tall boiler tower gave way at the Ulsan branch of the state-run utility Korea East-West Power, news agency Yonhap reported, citing the National Fire Agency. The collapse occurred shortly after 2 p.m. local time.
Two people were pulled from the debris earlier, while emergency responders continue to search for others feared buried beneath twisted metal and concrete.
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok ordered the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, National Fire Agency, Korean National Police Agency and local authorities to “mobilize all available equipment and personnel to prioritize saving lives.”
“In particular, we will make every effort to ensure the safety of firefighters working on-site and thoroughly implement safety measures such as on-site control and evacuation guidance for residents,” Kim said in a statement.
Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung also issued an emergency directive calling for mass mobilization of personnel and equipment to the accident site, adding that a situation-management officer had been dispatched to coordinate on-site operations.
Photos shared by local media showed a massive steel structure toppled on its side with a heap of crumpled beams and scaffolding at its base.
The disaster has renewed scrutiny of South Korea’s industrial safety regime, which has faced criticism following a series of fatal workplace accidents.
President Lee Jae Myung has repeatedly called for tougher safety enforcement to curb such tragedies.
“When fatal accidents occur in the same way, it ultimately amounts to condoning these deaths,” Lee said at a July cabinet meeting.
In August, he ordered that every workplace fatality be reported directly to his office and proposed sanctions such as revoking business licenses and restricting bids from companies with repeated deaths.
Lee, who suffered a factory accident as a teenager, has pledged to reduce South Korea’s industrial accident mortality rate — the highest among the 38 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development member countries — to the OECD average within five years.
