BY OSABUOHIEN VIVIAN ROSE
Authorities have launched an investigation on Tuesday after three people died during a car test at a Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) in city of Ulsan South Korea, Reuters reported.
Two Hyundai researchers and one Hyundai contractor were found unconscious in a car at around 3:00 p.m. while they were testing it in a “chamber,” Hyundai’s labour union said.
Media reports said the three had suffocated.
A police officer in Ulsan said the police and the labour ministry were investigating the incident, including its cause.
A fire department official told Reuters that it first received a report at 3:17 pm that the accident happened at Hyundai’s No.4 factory.
“Hyundai Motor Company is deeply saddened by the incident that occurred at our plant in Ulsan, South Korea,” Hyundai said in a statement, saying it would “cooperate fully with all relevant authorities to determine the cause of this incident.”
The Ulsan plant is Hyundai’s biggest manufacturing facility, with its own port and an annual production capacity of 1.4 million vehicles, including exports of 1.1 million units.
In November last year, Hyundai Motor broke ground on a 2 trillion won ($1.44 billion) plant in Ulsan dedicated to making electric vehicles in South Korea, as the automaker accelerated a shift away from petrol-powered cars.
$1 is 1,391.8800 won.
