20171107 Firefighters in 15-hour battle to beat Hwasun mine fire
Korea Nov 07 2017 “Other”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Firefighters in 15-hour battle to beat Hwasun mine fire
Updated: 2017-11-07 17:59
Firefighters took more than 15 hours to extinguish a big fire in a coal mine in Hwasun, South Jeolla Province, Hwasun Fire Station said Tuesday.
The fire started 200 meters from the entrance to the L-shaped mine on Monday. Four workers left the mine at 4 p.m. during a shift change before the fire began.
“There were small fires during the 28 years I’ve worked as a miner,” one man said. “But this is the first huge fire. If the fire occurred while we were working, 140 people down there would have been injured.”
Police said a coal conveyor’s motor overheated, causing timber slabs between rails below the belt to catch fire.
Firefighters had a hard time extinguishing the blaze because the narrow mine was filled with smoke and poisonous gas. They entered the mine about 9 p.m. Monday and were able to go in 150 meters by 11:30 p.m.
They spent the night putting out the fire but smoke has not yet cleared.
Twenty-nine fire trucks and 179 firefighters were sent to the site.
Police and the fire brigade will investigate the fire’s cause and the extent of damage.
Web Source: Korea Times
http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2017/11/113_238922.html