Police to Conduct Investigation to Determine Cause of Fire at Yeosu Samnam Petrochemical

Firefighters are extinguishing a fire that broke out on the 22nd at Samnam Petrochemical in the Yeosu National Industrial Complex, Jeollanam-do. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] On the morning of the 23rd, the Yeosu Police Station in Jeollanam-do announced that it plans to conduct an investigation to determine the cause of the fire accident that occurred at Samnam Petrochemical in the Yeosu National Industrial Complex, Jeollanam-do.

The investigation on this day is scheduled to take place at Samnam Petrochemical in Jeollyang-dong, Yeosu City, where the fire broke out, together with the forensic team from the Jeollanam-do Provincial Police Agency.

After confirming the ignition point through the first investigation, the police are reportedly considering a joint investigation with the National Forensic Service if necessary.

The fire occurred at the boiler facility, and it was confirmed that the factory had conducted regular maintenance from the 25th of last month to the 19th to reduce air pollutants.

After completing the regular maintenance, test operations for restarting began on the 19th, and at around 8:27 p.m. on the 22nd, a fire broke out due to fuel leakage.

Fortunately, there were no personnel casualties as no employees were present at the site, but the flames were so intense that bright red flames were visible from nearby cities, making firefighting difficult. The fire was extinguished about two hours and 30 minutes later after burning all the fuel inside the boiler.

The police are expected to focus their investigation on whether there were any safety issues during the boiler reassembly and test operation process.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.