On August 19, an explosion took place at the No. 2 blast furnace at South Korean steelmaker POSCO's Gwangyang Steelworks. No casualties were reported.
The explosion occurred following a leak from a gas pipe. Production operations at the No. 2 blast furnace were halted following the explosion. POSCO said the stoppage would not cause any reduction in the steel output of the company because the other blast furnaces at the plant are able to raise their production capacity utilization rates.
The annual production capacity of the No. 2 blast furnace is 3.5 million mt. POSCO has not yet issued any date for the resumption of production at the blast furnace.