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Party chair in Daejeon dispatched to the scene
Authorities urged to do their utmost
Jung Cheong-rae, leader of the Democratic Party, urgently dispatched Park Jeong-hyun, chair of the Daejeon City Party, to the scene of a factory fire in Daedeok District and instructed the party to prepare measures to support those affected.
On March 20, the Democratic Party said in a press release that Jung had ordered Rep. Yoon Geon-young, chair of the party’s Special Committee on Disaster and Crisis Response, to coordinate with the government and develop concrete response and recovery plans for the incident.
Earlier, Jung wrote on Facebook that he hoped there would be no serious damage and urged authorities to do their best.
The party said it will work closely with the government and concentrate its full resources on extinguishing the fire and rescuing anyone in danger.
According to the National Fire Agency, at about 1:17 p.m. that day an unexplained explosion and fire occurred at the Anjeon Industrial factory in Munpyeong-dong, Daedeok District, Daejeon. Approximately 200 kg (about 440 lb) of sodium stored inside the plant detonated, prompting concern about mass casualties. Fire authorities declared response level 1 at 1:26 p.m. and raised it to level 2 at 1:31 p.m.
As the situation worsened, a national fire mobilization order was issued at 1:53 p.m., and at 3:30 p.m. the Central Emergency Rescue Control Team was activated for a nationwide response. Firefighting and rescue units were mobilized from neighboring provinces, including Chungnam, Chungbuk and Sejong.
To date, 511 personnel from fire, police and health agencies and 124 pieces of equipment have been deployed. Given the explosion and chemical hazard, specialized equipment was also brought in, including an unmanned water-cannon vehicle, two unmanned firefighting robots, and Ulsan’s high-capacity foam-cannon system.
As of 4:30 p.m., officials confirmed 55 casualties: 24 seriously injured and 31 with minor injuries.
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