The manhole accident in Incheon, which resulted in two casualties, was found to have occurred while work was being carried out in violation of the service contract and without the approval of the ordering party.
The Central Regional Employment and Labor Office announced on July 7 that it plans to investigate the manhole accident that occurred in Incheon on July 6 for possible violations of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. The investigation will target the primary contractor who ordered the work, as well as subcontractors with five or more regular employees at the workplace.
The Central Regional Employment and Labor Office has issued a suspension order for the accident site and plans to investigate whether safety protocols?such as identifying confined spaces before work, measuring hazardous gas concentrations, and checking for the use of respiratory protective equipment?were properly followed.
At approximately 9:22 a.m. on July 6, A (48), the head of a company specializing in the inspection and management of sewage and wastewater pipelines, was rescued in a state of cardiac arrest from inside a manhole on a road in Byeongbang-dong, Gyeyang-gu, Incheon. Employee B (52) went missing. B was found dead at 10:40 a.m. at the end of the Gulpocheon Sewage Treatment Plant, located 1 kilometer from the accident site. A is currently being treated in the intensive care unit but has not regained consciousness.
According to the investigation, A's company was responsible for a re-subcontract as part of the "Sewage Pipeline GIS (Geographic Information System) Database Construction Service" project ordered by the Incheon Environmental Corporation. The primary contractor, Company C, subcontracted the work to Company D, which then re-subcontracted it to Company E, where the deceased B was employed.
According to the Incheon Environmental Corporation, subcontracting was prohibited for this service project, so the re-subcontracting constituted a breach of contract. The corporation is considering suspending the service, as the accident occurred while the service provider, which was supposed to perform the work directly, violated the contract conditions.
An official from the corporation stated, "When a service provider submits a work plan, we grant approval, but there was no such prior approval process in this case. We were not even aware that work was being conducted on a holiday."
Meanwhile, the police plan to investigate the ordering party, Incheon Environmental Corporation, as well as the primary and subcontracting companies, to identify who was responsible at the site. The police believe that the deceased temporary worker, B, was only wearing chest-high boots and was not properly equipped with safety gear such as an oxygen mask while working.
According to the investigation, A entered the manhole first and collapsed, unable to exit, and B suffered an accident while attempting a rescue. Based on the detection of hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide in the underground pipeline, the police and fire authorities believe that A and others were poisoned by toxic gases and are investigating the specific circumstances of the accident.
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