SOUTH KOREA – Fire at Ulsan chemical facility triggers evacuation of 7,000 workers

A fire at a chemical manufacturing facility in Ulsan, southeastern South Korea, prompted the evacuation of approximately 7,000 workers from a nearby petrochemical project on Wednesday.

The blaze was reported at 9:41 a.m., according to the Ulsan Fire Headquarters, which deployed around 200 emergency personnel and three helicopters to tackle the incident.

All 16 employees at the affected facility had evacuated, and no casualties had been reported at the time of the announcement.

Initial assessments suggest the fire originated at an outdoor storage tank containing approximately 8,000 litres of toluene, a highly flammable chemical. Smoke from the incident also led refiner S-OIL to partially halt work at its nearby Shaheen petrochemical project, with around 7,000 workers moved to safe locations.

South Korea’s Interior Minister, Yun Ho-jung, instructed authorities to deploy all available resources to extinguish the fire and establish whether anyone remained unaccounted for.

Police and fire officials are expected to investigate the incident to determine its cause.

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