Day: June 25, 2024

SEOUL, Rescue workers retrieved one more body Tuesday after a fire at a lithium battery plant in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, one of the worst chemical plant accidents in the country.

The retrieval increased the death toll to 23 from the fire that gutted lithium battery maker Aricell’s plant in Hwaseong, 45 kilometers south of Seoul, the previous day.

Eight others also sustained injuries, two of them seriously.

Shortly before noon, rescuers pulled out the additional body, believed to belong to a worker who had remained missing, reportedly from under collapsed iron beams and other debris.

About 100 personnel and two rescue dogs were mobilized during the day for the search, which had continued since the previous day.

All deceased victims were found on the second floor of the plant, where the fire first started, while they were inspecting and packaging finished battery products.

Seventeen of the victims were Chinese, while five were Koreans, and one was Laotian, police said, updating the initial count of two
Koreans by fire authorities.

A team of police, firefighters, forensic workers and other government officials launched a joint investigation at the fire site around noon to determine the cause of the accident.

Police have requested autopsies on the bodies to determine the cause of death.

The identities of only two Koreans among the victims have been confirmed so far, as the bodies of the others were severely destroyed in the fire and are beyond recognition.

“We plan to confirm the victims’ identities by collecting DNA from their bodies,” a police official said, adding that the process may take some time because they were mostly foreigners.

Following the investigation, rescue workers plan to resume their search inside the scorched plant to see if there are any other remaining victims.

According to initial findings by fire authorities, Monday’s fire started at a storage and packaging area for primary lithium batteries supplied to the military for use in FM walkie-talkies.

Lithium is considered a relativel
y stable material, requiring no specific legal regulations for its handling in South Korea.

Lithium, however, can cause sparks if it comes into contact with rusted iron in the presence of flammable gas in the air, necessitating storage in a separate, dry space.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

DUMAGUETE: The Department of Labor and Employment- Central Visayas (DOLE-7) has laid out a comprehensive plan for the immediate and long-term recovery of residents in Canlaon City, Negros Oriental, affected by the recent eruption of Mt. Kanlaon.

Initially, 1,450 farmers and livestock owners have been hired for emergency employment under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/ Displaced Workers program, DOLE-Negros Oriental Firel Office Director Vivenco Lagahid said Tuesday.

‘These beneficiaries have already been profiled and have started working since late last week doing menial tasks like street cleaning, especially in the communities affected by the volcanic eruption,’ he said.

They will each receive PHP4,680 for 10 days’ worth of community work or a daily wage of PHP468, he added.

The villages of Pula, Masulog, Linothangan, Malaiba, and Lumapao in Canlaon City were tapped as priority areas for the recovery efforts.

Meanwhile, the long-term recovery assistance from DOLE for the five villages
is the Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program, tapping associations as primary beneficiaries.

Lagahid said they are currently identifying and validating the status of associations which were previous DOLE beneficiaries of livelihood grants.

In a separate statement, DOLE-7 Director Lilia Estillore said Canlaon City beneficiaries will be provided with protective equipment or PPE and a one-year group accident insurance coverage for one year through the Government Service Insurance System.

Referrals will also be made to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority for livelihood training.

Lagahid also met with Canlaon Mayor Jose Chubasco Cardenas recently to discuss possible areas of collaboration, such as job placements for fresh graduates.

Source: Philippines News Agency

SEOUL, Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Xing Haiming said Tuesday he is “deeply saddened” by the loss of 17 Chinese nationals in a battery plant fire in Hwaseong the previous day.

Xing’s comments were posted on the Chinese Embassy’s social media account a day after he visited the fire site in the city 45 kilometers south of Seoul.

“I express my condolences to the victims and sincerely offer words of comfort to the bereaved family members and those injured,” he said.

Xing said his embassy is working with South Korean authorities to handle the aftermath and has requested South Korea provide all necessary assistance to the Chinese victims’ families, including a swift determination of the fire’s cause.

“In particular, I am deeply saddened that unfortunately many Chinese nationals lost their lives,” he said. “I hope that relevant South Korean companies will learn a painful lesson so that such accidents do not happen again, and that they will firmly guarantee the lives, health and safety of Chinese nationals in Sou
th Korea.”

Of the 23 killed, China had the largest number of victims, with five others being Koreans and one being Laotian.

Second Vice Foreign Minister Kang In-sun spoke by phone with Xing late Monday to express her condolences and promised that necessary and timely support will be provided to the victims and their family members, a foreign ministry official said.

“We explained that we will proactively seek ways to help with things like the entry of the bereaved families into South Korea and funeral procedures,” the official said.

Identifying the victims is the top priority, the official said, adding that related agencies are working with foreign diplomatic missions in Seoul over the matter.

Some of the victims are reportedly naturalized Korean citizens, a source said.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

MANILA: A lawmaker on Tuesday said the approved tariff cut on imported rice would set in motion President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s goal to bring down the retail cost of the staple to below PHP30 per kilo.

In a statement, Camarines Sur 1st District Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. said Executive Order (EO) 62 is a “welcome development” as it reduced the tariff rate on imported rice from 35 percent to 15 percent in-quota and out-quota.

“The unhampered implementation of EO 62 will get going the process for rice prices to go down below PHP30 a kilo, at least to poor and low-income consumers, as projected by our economic managers,” Villafuerte said.

He appealed to certain farmers’ groups that are set to file a temporary restraining order (TRO) against EO 62 to ‘reconsider and give up their planned legal action” considering that agricultural workers will benefit from cheaper rice “as they themselves are main consumers of this staple.’

Twelve groups, including Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura, bared plans ov
er the weekend weekend to file a TRO before the Supreme Court to prevent EO 62’s effectivity on July 6.

Aside from the EO, Villafuerte said the bill amending Republic Act (RA) 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law would help reduce rice prices further.

He said with the proposed amendment that will allow the National Food Authority to import rice again or buy the harvests of local farmers, the agency can effectively intervene in the market by selling cheaper rice, particularly to poor or low-income consumers, whenever domestic prices are “unusually high.’

Speaker Martin Romualdez has assured Filipino farmers that they will receive substantial support through government subsidies, allaying their concerns about the reduction in tariffs on imported rice.

‘Napaka-importante (It is very important) for farmers to get all the support and the subsidies that we could provide para makahabol din tayo na maging (so we can achieve) rice self-sufficient,’ Romualdez said.

House Committee on Agriculture Chair Mark Enverga
and Committee on Appropriations Chair Elizaldy Co said the reduction of tariffs under EO 62 will not jeopardize the welfare of local farmers.

Enverga noted that substantial funding is allocated for agricultural support and the projected requirements to sustain RCEP initiatives for 2024.

The current RCEF, also known as the Rice Fund, allocates PHP10 billion annually from tariff collections on rice imports to finance farm mechanization, provision of better seeds and training on new farming technologies.

Co cited ongoing initiatives by the National Irrigation Administration, which has started contract farming expected to yield 200,000 metric tons of rice, with sales ranging from PHP29 to PHP34 per kilo.

Co also pointed out the introduction of solar fertigation systems, which are projected to increase rice production by 80 percent at no additional cost to farmers.

Source: Philippines News Agency

SEOUL, Surveillance footage from a lithium battery plant where a fire killed 23 people Monday revealed a harrowing timeline: it took just 42 seconds for thick smoke to engulf the facility following an initial battery explosion.

Eight others sustained injuries, with two in serious condition after the fire ravaged the lithium battery maker Aricell’s plant in Hwaseong, 45 kilometers south of Seoul, in one of the worst chemical plant accidents in the country.

According to the footage released by the National Fire Agency on Tuesday, the first explosion occurred at 10:30:03 a.m. Monday, followed by a second explosion at 10:30:28 and a third explosion just three seconds later.

The footage shows a company employee attempting to extinguish the flames with a powder extinguisher at 10:30:32, but was soon overwhelmed as black smoke rapidly filled the area, making visibility through the CCTV almost impossible at 10:30:45.

The exact cause of the initial explosion remains undetermined, though authorities suggest that t
he first cylindrical battery is presumed to have exploded due to unknown reasons, rapidly expanding the fire and resulting in a significant number of casualties.

Earlier in the day, rescuers pulled out an additional body, reportedly from under collapsed iron beams and other debris, increasing the death toll to 23.

Police confirmed the body was that of a South Korean national in his 40s, who had remained missing, after identifying the deceased’s fingerprints. He is among the three local victims whose identifications have been confirmed.

About 100 personnel and two rescue dogs were mobilized during the day for the search, which had continued since the previous day.

All deceased victims were found on the second floor of the plant, where the fire first started, while they were inspecting and packaging finished battery products.

Seventeen of the victims were Chinese, while five were Koreans, and one was Laotian, police said, updating the initial count of two Koreans by fire authorities.

A team of police, fir
efighters, forensic workers and other government officials launched a joint investigation at the fire site around noon to determine the cause of the accident.

Police have requested autopsies on the bodies to determine the cause of death.

The identities of only two Koreans among the victims have been confirmed so far, as the bodies of the others were severely destroyed in the fire and are beyond recognition.

“We plan to confirm the victims’ identities by collecting DNA from their bodies,” a police official said, adding that the process may take some time because they were mostly foreigners.

Following the investigation, rescue workers plan to resume their search inside the scorched plant to see if there are any other remaining victims.

Police also booked the head of the battery firm and four others for investigation on charges related to the deadly accident, including professional negligence resulting in deaths and injuries.

Overseas travel bans were also imposed on all of them as police investigated who
should be held accountable for the disaster.

According to initial findings by fire authorities, Monday’s fire started at a storage and packaging area for primary lithium batteries supplied to the military for use in FM walkie-talkies.

Lithium is considered a relatively stable material, requiring no specific legal regulations for its handling in South Korea.

Lithium, however, can cause sparks if it comes into contact with rusted iron in the presence of flammable gas in the air, necessitating storage in a separate, dry space.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

SEOUL, South Korea and the United States held a new round of negotiations Tuesday on sharing the cost for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), Seoul’s foreign ministry officials said.

The three-day talks in Seoul came about two weeks after South Korea’s chief negotiator Lee Tae-woo and his U.S. counterpart, Linda Specht, held the third round of negotiations on the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) in Washington.

Tuesday’s talks lasted for about seven hours until 5 p.m.

“Now that the two sides have identified each other’s basic stance, I believe we’re entering a phase of (negotiating) in detail, by sector,” a Seoul official said on condition of anonymity.

The allies launched the negotiations in April, earlier than expected, amid speculation that Seoul wants an early deal to avoid tough bargaining with Washington in case former U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Under Trump’s presidency, Washington had demanded more than a fivefold increase in Seoul’s payment to US
$5 billion.

The current six-year SMA, due to expire at the end of next year, committed South Korea to paying $1.03 billion for 2021, a 13.9 percent increase from 2019, and increasing the payment every year for the subsequent four years in line with the rise in Seoul’s defense spending.

South Korea has said it seeks to have negotiations based on the position that its share should come at a “reasonable level,” to create an environment for the stable stationing of the U.S. Forces Korea and to strengthen the allies’ combined defense posture.

Since 1991, Seoul has partially shared the cost for Korean USFK workers; the construction of military installations, such as barracks, as well as training, educational, operational and communications facilities; and other logistical support.

Source: Yonhap News Agency