Hanwha Aerospace Plant Explosion Leaves Five Dead

(MENAFN) South Korean authorities mobilized a multi-agency investigation Tuesday into a deadly explosion at a Hanwha Aerospace facility that claimed five lives and left two workers injured, South Korean media reported.

The blast tore through the defense contractor's factory in Daejeon — a city roughly 140 kilometers (87 miles) south of Seoul — on Monday, triggering immediate scrutiny from police, fire brigades, forensic teams, labor ministry officials, and national safety regulators, all now working in tandem to determine its cause.

Investigators are examining whether hazardous flammable materials contributed to the incident. Hanwha representatives disclosed that workers had been cleaning propellant powder residue from equipment used in the manufacture of propulsion systems at the time of the explosion.

Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon pledged a thorough investigation, while police said the damaged building was not at risk of collapse.

The Daejeon facility, which specializes in large-scale propulsion engines and tactical surface-to-surface weapons systems, has been the site of repeated deadly incidents. A 2018 explosion at the same complex killed five people, and a separate blast the following year claimed three more workers' lives — raising urgent questions about safety protocols at one of South Korea's most strategically significant defense installations.

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