Minor fire breaks out at Taean coal power plant in S.Korea

SEOUL: A fire broke out at a coal power plant in Taean city in South Korea on Sunday.

Fire authorities said that they received a 119 emergency call at 8.46 a.m., reporting that flames had risen from the 380-megawatt thermal plant in Taean, 109 kilometers south of Seoul, and there was the sound of an explosion, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Firefighters were soon dispatched to the site and the blaze was put out at 11:32 a.m., according to the authorities.

No deaths or injuries have been reported, as a dozen employees in nearby areas were quickly evacuated from the site, they said.

Officials at the Korea Western Power Co., which operates the plant, presumed the fire broke out in the upper part of the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) system built in 2016.

Police and fire authorities are looking into the exact cause of the fire.

No casualties have been reported.