POSCO's Pohang Steelworks Fire Breaks Ahead of Pohang vs. Gimcheon Crash, Game Will Go On As Announced
Nov 10, 2024
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The Gyeongbuk Fire Department announced that it put out all the fire at POSCO Pohang Steel Mill 3 Finex Plant in Steel-dong, Nam-gu, Pohang at 9:20 a.m. on the 10th. It was completely extinguished within five hours of the fire.
According to the fire department, the plant caught fire at around 4:20 a.m. with three explosions. When the fire broke out, the fire authorities issued the first stage of response at around 4:50 a.m. and dispatched 40 fire engines and 120 personnel to extinguish the fire. POSCO's own fire department also put out the fire from the beginning. One out of eight workers inside the factory suffered burns and seven were evacuated at the time of the fire. Fire authorities sprayed a large amount of water to extinguish the blaze and declared the initial extinguishment at 6:37 a.m. before extinguishing the remaining fire.
Pohang Nambu Police Station in Gyeongsangbuk-do has requested the National Forensic Service to investigate the cause of the fire after preserving the scene of the accident. The National Forensic Service is expected to conduct an inspection at the scene of the fire as early as the 11th.
Coincidentally, a showdown between Pohang and Gimcheon managing director 'Hana Bank K League 1 2024' will be held at 2 p.m. on the 10th in Stillyard, Pohang, near the fire. "Fortunately, there are no problems such as smoke and smell near the soccer field," a Pohang club official said. We are preparing to proceed as scheduled." An official from the Korea Professional Football Federation also said 'As a result of checking the game supervisor, the fire was completely contained. It is not a problem for the game to be held, so we will proceed normally.
The two teams are in a fierce competition for rankings. Gimcheon (60 points) is ranked third and Pohang (53 points) is ranked fifth. In particular, Pohang is desperate to win to advance to the Asian Champions League (ACL) next season.
In the K-League, a total of four teams will play in the Asian Champions League Elite (ACLE) or the Asian Champions League 2 (ACL2). In principle, there are three in the K League and one in the Korea Cup (formerly FA Cup). The K League 1 winners will go straight to the ACLE finals. The runner-up will go to the ACLE Playoff (PO) stage. The third-place finisher will compete in the ACL2 tournament. The Korea Cup winners will compete in ACLE if they finish in the top four in the league, and ACL2 if they are outside the top five.
epi17@sportschosun.com
