"Exploding Continuously with Thick Black Smoke"... 7,000 People Evacuated Nearby

[Anchor]

A large fire broke out yesterday at a chemical storage facility in Ulju-gun, Ulsan, prompting 7,000 people to evacuate. No injuries have been reported.

Reporter Lee Chae-hyun from UBC.

[Reporter]

Bright red flames soar fiercely, and thick black smoke blankets the sky over the industrial complex.

Shortly afterward, explosions follow one after another.

The fire at a chemical company in Ulju-gun, Ulsan, started at around 9:40 a.m.

[Witness: We evacuated because we didn't know what might happen. We sort of ran away. From 9:40 a.m. to around 10:00 a.m., we heard 5 to 6 explosion sounds, and after that, they came at slightly longer intervals.]

All seven outdoor tanks at the company were destroyed by the fire.

Fortunately, there were no injuries, but because the site borders the Shaheen Project construction area, about 7,000 workers in the surrounding area had to evacuate, causing chaos.

In addition, because companies handling chemicals are densely clustered nearby, there were high concerns about additional explosions.

Fire authorities issued a Level 1 response and invoked the national firefighting mobilization order twice, bringing the flames under control in about four hours.

This is the fire scene. Because the burning tanks were filled with flammable substances, it took some time to extinguish the fire.

This facility is known to be capable of storing up to 168,000 liters of Class 4 hazardous materials, including thinner, toluene, and acetone.

Fire authorities believe the fire started while "toluene" was being transferred from the storage facility into drums.

Police and fire authorities have secured a statement from a company official saying, "The valves were closed," and plan to conduct a joint investigation to determine the exact circumstances.

(Video by: Cho Hyun-woo, UBC)

Lee Chae-hyun, UBC
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.