The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Tuesday it was conducting searches and seizures at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' Ulsan headquarters and other locations over a Navy submarine fire at the company's Ulsan shipyard that killed a worker in her 60s.
About 60 people, including labor inspectors and police, were deployed. Authorities are securing computers and related materials and focusing on whether fire-prevention measures and evacuation steps were properly carried out.
The fire broke out at about 1:58 p.m. on April 9 on the Hong Beom-do, a 214-class (1,800-ton) Navy submarine undergoing maintenance at the Ulsan shipyard in Ulsan's Dong District. Most workers evacuated, but A, a woman in her 60s employed by a subcontractor, was trapped inside.
After the fire was put out, firefighters searched the vessel and found her at about 4:38 p.m. near an interior passageway. Rescue efforts were hampered by the extremely tight space and repeated explosions after water used in firefighting came into contact with electrical equipment.
Authorities dried the submarine and dismantled high-capacity batteries before recovering her body about 33 hours after the fire began.
The Labor Ministry's Ulsan office said it will use the seized materials to determine whether required safety measures were followed and who is responsible. It will also review possible violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.
A ministry official said authorities will actively use measures such as searches, seizures and custodial investigations at workplaces where serious accidents occur or where similar incidents recur due to failures to follow basic safety rules.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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