Yeosu Coast Guard Reports 2 Casualties from Docked Ship Fire at Gwangyang Port

One Dead, One Injured in Engine Room Fire on Tugboat Docked at Gwangyang Port Management Wharf

[Yeosu=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Cheol-hoon] The Yeosu Maritime Police Station in Jeonnam (Chief Park Je-su) announced on the 21st that "a fire broke out in the engine room of a 140-ton tugboat docked at the Gwangyang management pier, resulting in 2 casualties."

According to Yeosu Maritime Police, at around 4:07 PM on the same day, a fire accompanied by an explosion was reported by the pier manager via 119 emergency call from the engine room of tugboat A (4 crew members, registered in Incheon), a 140-ton vessel docked at the Gwangyang-si Geumho-dong management pier.

Upon receiving the report, Yeosu Maritime Police dispatched patrol vessels and rescue teams to suppress the fire. Firefighters who arrived at the scene entered the engine room and extinguished the fire, rescuing the engineer Lim (in his 60s), who was trapped inside.

The ship fire is presumed to have been caused by an explosion and fire due to gas during welding work on the manhole cover inside the engine room by Chief Engineer Park (in his 70s) and Engineer Lim (in his 60s).

Immediately after the explosion, Chief Engineer Park evacuated outside but suffered burns on both arms and his face. Engineer Lim, who could not escape in time, is presumed to have been trapped in the engine room and died.

A Yeosu Maritime Police official stated, "We plan to conduct an accurate investigation into the cause of the fire with the reporter and ship officials, along with fire forensics."

Yeosu=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Cheol-hoon hss79@asiae.co.kr

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