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Hyundai workers suffocate during car test at South Korea factory, prompting probe

Police and the labour ministry are investigating the incident, which reportedly involved suffocation in a testing chamber

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Tragedy struck a Hyundai Motor plant in Ulsan, South Korea, as three workers, including researchers, died during a car test, which reportedly involved suffocation in a testing chamber. Photo: AFP

South Korean authorities launched an investigation on Tuesday after three people died during a car test at a Hyundai Motor plant in the city of Ulsan, police said.

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The two Hyundai researchers and one Hyundai contractor were found unconscious in a car at around 3:00pm while they were testing it in a “chamber,” according to Hyundai’s labour union.

“Three research workers have died at an Ulsan assembly line,” a Hyundai representative said.

“We are trying to determine the cause of the incident,” the representative said, without giving any further details.

A police officer in Ulsan said the police and the labour ministry were investigating the incident, including its cause.

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A fire department official told Reuters that it first received a report at 3:17pm that the accident happened at Hyundai’s No 4 factory.

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