"I Went In to Save a Colleague... Called for Help Before Losing Consciousness"

Police investigating the accident at the Maeil Dairies plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, which resulted in two casualties among workers in their 50s, have secured a statement from a survivor saying, "I lost consciousness after going in to rescue a fallen colleague."

Based on an autopsy opinion indicating no external trauma on the body, police are investigating the possibility of an accident caused by suffocation within a confined space.

According to police and fire authorities today (August 12), an accident occurred on August 9 at around 2:58 PM at the plant located in Jinwi-myeon, Pyeongtaek, where a Maeil Dairies worker identified as A died and another worker, B, was injured while working inside a condensed milk storage tank.

Initially, it was reported that the two were found collapsed together inside the tank, which measures 3.4 meters in height and 1.9 meters in diameter, but subsequent verification revealed they were found inside and outside the tank, respectively.

B reportedly saw A, who was working in the same team, collapsed inside the tank and entered to rescue him before losing consciousness.

B told police, "While doing other work, I noticed A was missing and went to look for him. I saw him collapsed inside the tank and went in, but I don't remember anything after that. I shouted 'Help me' and passed out."

Emergency responders from the 119 rescue services, dispatched following a report from another colleague, transported A, who was found in cardiac arrest inside the tank, and B, who was sitting outside the tank complaining of dizziness, to hospitals respectively.

After A ultimately passed away at the hospital, police requested an autopsy from the National Forensic Service.

The National Forensic Service recently delivered a preliminary verbal opinion to the police stating, "There was no external trauma on the body, and the exact cause of death can be determined only after detailed tests such as blood analysis."

It is expected to take more than a month for the detailed autopsy results to come out.

Synthesizing the findings so far, police believe that A and B may have entered the tank sequentially under low oxygen conditions, resulting in the fatality and injury.

The inside of the tank is known to be a confined space with poor ventilation, where residual internal matter rotting or the use of cleaning agents can rapidly deplete oxygen and accumulate hazardous gases.

The biggest question is why the deceased worker A entered the sealed tank.

A scrubbing sponge was found near the deceased A, but no traces of cleaning agents were found.

A police official said, "The deceased appears to have gone all the way down to the bottom of the tank and collapsed. Although it is said that the day of the accident was not scheduled for cleaning the inside of the tank, we will examine why the deceased went inside and whether oxygen levels were measured before entering."

Following the completion of preliminary investigations, the police plan to transfer the case to the Serious Accidents Investigation Team at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, a higher-level authority.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.