Vietnamese Worker in His 30s Dies from Gas Suffocation at Yeongam Ship Parts Plant

Argon gas suffocation during work

A Vietnamese subcontract worker in his 30s died from gas poisoning while cutting metal at a ship parts manufacturing workplace in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor and Yeongam Police Station in South Jeolla Province on February 24, a report was filed at around 9:33 a.m. that day that A, a 37-year-old Vietnamese national employed by a subcontractor, had collapsed at a ship parts manufacturing plant in Yeongam-gun, South Jeolla Province.

Emergency responders from the 119 rescue team, who were dispatched after a report from a coworker, transported A, who was in cardiac arrest, to a nearby hospital, but he was later pronounced dead.

The investigation found that A was polishing and cutting the surface of metal products with an electric grinder that used argon gas instead of oxygen, and that he died after suffocating from leaked gas during the work.

Immediately after the accident, the Serious Accident Investigation Division and the Industrial Accident Prevention Supervision Division of the Mokpo Branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor issued an immediate work suspension order to the company and launched an investigation into the exact cause of the accident.

The police and labor authorities are closely investigating whether the company properly fulfilled its obligation to implement safety and health measures in the workplace, and whether there were violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, as well as occupational negligence resulting in death.