Samsung's Geoje Shipyard Halts Work After Back-to-Back Accidents

Shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries has been ordered to temporarily stop work at its yard in Geoje, South Korea after two back-to-back accidents left one worker dead and another critically injured. 

On Friday morning at about 1050 hours, a 43-year-old employee was struck by a wire rope at the Geoje yard, leaving him seriously injured. He has been hospitalized and is in critical condition. 

On Saturday morning at about 0700 hours, a 58-year-old SHI employee was killed when steel beams fell on him during a crane lift. 

After the second accident, the Tongyeong Employment and Labor Office ordered Samsung Heavy Industries to suspend work while an investigation into the causes of the casualties continues. The local police are conducting a parallel inquiry into the two accidents. 

It is the second time in two years that SHI has been ordered to halt production for safety reasons. On May 1, 2017, a tower crane at Geoje was lifting a large object when it collided with a gantry crane and collapsed onto a break area. More than 20 workers were injured and five were killed at the scene. An additional worker later died of his wounds, bringing the death toll to six.