The South Korean authorities have launched an investigation after 3 employees were killed at a Hyundai factory. The accident happened during an environmental test.
Three Hyundai employees have died during an environmental test in a chamber at a factory in South Korea.
The three men worked on an investigation that had to simulate extreme climate conditions in connection with the development of a prototype car.
The police are still investigating the incident, but South Korean media reports that the victims probably suffocated due to the accumulation of exhaust gases in the chamber.
The dead are two experienced employees from Hyundai, one in their 30s and one in their 40s, as well as an employee from an external company. According to Korean Car Blog, the three were found dead by colleagues after they failed to leave the chamber as planned.
Hyundai confirmed the incident in a statement to the Reuters news agency.
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"Hyundai Motor Company is deeply affected by the incident that took place at our plant in Ulsan, South Korea," reads the statement.
The company has also promised to "cooperate fully with all relevant authorities to determine the cause of the incident".
Environmental chambers like the one where the accident happened are used by car manufacturers to simulate extreme conditions such as high heat, cold and humidity.
The purpose is to investigate how corrals react under different climatic stresses. The exact prelude to the accident has not yet been clarified, and the investigation continues.
The accident took place in Hyundai's Electrification Quality Division, a department dedicated to quality control and development of electrified coaches. The employees who found the dead have stated that there were no visible signs of trouble because the men did not return after the test.
Hyundai has expressed its support to the families of the deceased and emphasizes that the safety of their employees has the highest priority. Factory operations in the affected department have been temporarily suspended while the authorities are on site.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that employees at a car factory have lost their lives. In February this year, Subaru stopped all of its production in Japan because an employee was crushed to death. Read more about it here .
