SEOUL (Reuters) -Six workers were injured, with three of them in critical condition, at a POSCO stainless steel factory in Pohang, South Korea on Thursday, after inhaling toxic gas, a company spokesperson said.
Production at the factory was suspended at the time of the accident due to a “materials supply issue”, the spokesperson said without elaborating.
Yonhap News said the workers, who included cleaning subcontractors, were removing waste at the factory and toxic gas was generated during the process.
POSCO, South Korea’s top steelmaker, said it would cooperate with an investigation by the police and other authorities, while making efforts to prevent accidents from happening again.
Earlier this month, a subcontracted worker was killed and three others were injured at another POSCO factory in the southern city of Pohang due to toxic gas, Yonhap News said.
South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung has vowed to get tough on workplace safety to lower the country’s above-average rate of industrial accidents.
(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Susan Fenton)
