Foreign Worker Working 18 Hours Straight... Trapped in Compressor, Suffers Fatal Accident

A foreign worker who had been working overnight for over 18 hours died after being caught in a compressor on the 26th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Choyoung] A foreign worker who worked continuously for 18 hours to meet a deadline died after being caught in a hydraulic press.

According to the Hwaseong Western Police Station in Gyeonggi Province on the 26th, at around 3:30 a.m. the previous day, A (33), a Sri Lankan national, died after being caught between equipment while replacing the nameplate of a hydraulic press at a plastic product manufacturing factory in Paltan-myeon, Hwaseong City.

At the time, A, who was working with two other foreign workers, bent over to replace the press mold and put his head into the press, which measured 60 cm by 60 cm horizontally and vertically, when the press suddenly operated, causing the accident.

A and others had been working continuously for more than 18 hours since around 9 a.m. the previous day, and the Korean manager who was with them reportedly left work around 11 p.m. the previous night, leaving them behind.

The police are investigating the exact cause of death, suspecting that A was working while some hydraulic gas remained in the press. They are also investigating whether there were any violations of labor laws regarding the working conditions of A and others.

Meanwhile, in May, a foreign worker in his 30s died after getting his head caught in a welding machine at an automobile parts manufacturing factory in Asan City, Chungnam Province.