Seoul : Three South Korean workers died on Friday after apparently inhaling toxic gas at a construction site for a nuclear plant being built by South Korea’s monopoly nuclear power company, which has come under recent threats by hackers, a company official said, reports AP.
The accident at the construction site in the southeastern city of Ulsan came as the state-run Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co was on high alert over a series of threats by hackers who claim they can disable the control systems of its plants.
Choi Hee-ye, a company spokeswoman, said there was no reason to believe that today’s accident was linked to the cyberattack threats.
The victims were working at the construction site when they fell unconscious and were taken to a hospital, where they later died, Choi said.
The company has yet to determine the cause of the accident, although the leaking of nitrogen was suspected, she said, adding that it wasn’t immediately clear how nitrogen was used in the construction process. Construction of the plant is scheduled to be completed next year.
