Three workers lost their lives at a Hyundai car plant in Ulsan, South Korea, on Tuesday, according to the automaker. The tragic incident reportedly occurred during a vehicle performance test, with initial reports suggesting unventilated exhaust gases in an enclosed chamber as the likely cause.
“Three research workers have died at an Ulsan assembly line,” a Hyundai representative told AFP. “We are trying to determine the cause of the incident,” the official added, without providing further details.
The Ulsan plant, located 370 kilometers (229 miles) southeast of Seoul, is recognized as the world’s largest single automobile manufacturing facility. Hyundai described the facility as featuring an export shipping dock and state-of-the-art assembly lines.
According to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, the victims—two Hyundai researchers and one subcontractor employee—were conducting a car performance test in a chamber at the time of the accident. The workers were found collapsed and rushed to nearby hospitals, where they were pronounced dead.
“The victims were presumed to have been suffocated due to toxic gas in the enclosed space, and a police investigation is under way to find the exact cause of the accident,” Yonhap reported.
This incident marks another tragedy for the Ulsan factory. In 2023, a worker died after being caught in a heat treatment machine during an inspection. Following that incident, Hyundai issued an apology and committed to implementing stricter safety measures to prevent future accidents.
Hyundai, along with its affiliate Kia, is the world’s third-largest automaker, recording over 4.2 million global sales in 2023. Together, the two companies accounted for approximately 80% of new vehicle sales in South Korea last year.
AFP
