Fatal accident at paper mill

[Anchor]

Another worker fatality has occurred.

A new employee who had only been at Hansol Paper for a month was found dead after falling into a machine.

The factory was unaware of the accident for over 10 hours.

Reporter Kim Yea-eun has the details.

[Report]

Police cars are entering the factory one after another.

Around 1:50 AM today (July 17), a male worker in his 30s was found dead inside a factory machine.

Earlier, the police began tracking the location of the missing man after his wife reported that he had not returned home.

They identified the man's location inside the factory.

Immediately, they analyzed internal CCTV and confirmed that around 3:30 PM yesterday (July 16), the man had fallen into a hole measuring 1 meter in length and 30 cm in width, being sucked into a machine that produces recycled paper.

[Firefighter/voice altered: "(The machine) weighs about 36 tons. It was in a state where about 50% was mixed with water and paper pulp. After the drainage work, we need to check the inside..."]

It is presumed that the man encountered the accident while working to stack and move waste paper, failing to notice the opening mechanism leading to the lower floor.

Colleagues present at the site before the shift change also did not notice the accident.

The deceased worker had only joined the factory a month ago.

An immediate work stoppage order was issued for the process where the accident occurred.

In the Hansol Paper factory, two workers also died in accidents while working in 2019 and 2022.

Hansol Paper, which was unaware of the accident for over 10 hours, stated, "We will do our best to prevent a recurrence of the accident."

The police and labor authorities are investigating the circumstances of the accident and whether there were any violations of the Serious Accident Punishment Act against factory officials.

This is KBS News, Kim Yea-eun.