7,000 evacuated after S. Korea's massive chemical plant fire

About 7,000 workers were evacuated after a massive chemical plant fire erupted in South Korea's southeastern industrial city of Ulsan on Wednesday, according to Yonhap news agency.

The blaze began around 9:41 a.m. local time at the chemical manufacturing plant in Ulsan, some 300 km southeast of Seoul.

All 12 employees working at the plant managed to evacuate safely without any casualties.

The fire originated from an outdoor storage tank containing 8,000 liters of toluene, a highly flammable material.

A secondary fire was ignited on a lawn as flying embers drifted into a neighboring facility, while the fire threatened to spread to adjacent chemical storage tanks.

As thick black smoke and toxic odors blanketed the surrounding area, some 7,000 workers at the nearby construction site of a petrochemical plant were evacuated to ensure safety.

Employees at other adjacent businesses were also evacuated as a precautionary measure.

The blaze prompted the fire authorities to issue a national fire mobilization order, summoning specialized firefighting vehicles, helicopters and more than 200 personnel from surrounding cities and regions.

The blaze was brought under control around 1:34 p.m. and was completely extinguished at 1:50 p.m.

The authorities planned to investigate the exact cause of the accident and the extent of the damage.

xinhua