HWASEONG, South Korea, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- An investigation has begun into the cause of a fatal gas leak at Samsung Electronics' main plant in South Korea, where memory chips are made, police said.
Officials said up to 10 liters (about 2.6 gallons) of hydrofluoric acid -- which can damage lungs, bones and the nervous system -- leaked from one of the pipes at the Samsung plant in Hwaseong Sunday, killing one worker and injuring four others, Yonhap reported Tuesday.
Police said Samsung officials identified the dead and injured as workers from Samsung's subcontractor, STI Service, who were called to repair the leak Sunday night. After the work was completed early Monday, all five STI workers complained of neck and chest pain.
One worker collapsed at the scene and died later in a Seoul hospital, police said.
Police said they were questioning Samsung and STI officials Monday about why the incident wasn't reported to authorities sooner, Yonhap said.
Police said they will investigate whether the workers had access to proper safety equipment and determine the poisonous gas leaked from the tank.
In a statement released Tuesday, Samsung expressed regret and offered condolences.
"The firm promises to actively cooperate with the authorities regarding the incident to thoroughly investigate the cause so we can prepare measures to prevent it from happening again," said Jun Dong-soo, president of Samsung's memory chip division.
