[Anchor]

A large fire broke out at a chemical storage facility in Ulsan earlier today (October 14). While some 7,000 people in the surrounding area were evacuated, authorities report that there were no casualties, fortunately.

Here is a report from UBC Reporter Lee Chae-hyun.

[Reporter]

Crimson flames soar fiercely as thick black smoke blankets the sky above the industrial complex.

A series of explosions follows shortly after.

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

[Witness: We didn't know what might happen, so we evacuated. We sort of ran away. From 9:40 a.m. to around 10:00 a.m., we heard about five to six explosions, and after that, they came at slightly longer intervals.]

The fire completely destroyed all seven outdoor tanks at the facility.

Fortunately, no one was injured, but because the site borders the Shaheen Project construction area, about 7,000 workers in the vicinity had to evacuate, causing widespread disruption.

There were also significant concerns about secondary explosions due to the close concentration of other chemical-handling companies nearby.

Fire authorities issued a Level 1 response and invoked national firefighting mobilization orders twice, bringing the blaze under control after about four hours.

Here at the scene of the fire.

Because the burning tanks were filled to the brim with flammable substances, it took some time to completely extinguish the fire.

The facility is known to store 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 statements from company officials saying "the valves were closed" and plan to conduct a joint investigation to determine the exact cause.

(Video by: Cho Hyun-woo, UBC)

Lee Chae-hyun, UBC