1st LD: Four injured in S.Korean chemical-carrying ship explosion

Four people have been confirmed injured Sunday in a chemical-carrying ship explosion incident on South Korea's southeast coast, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The 1,553-ton vessel that moored in the country's southeast port city of Ulsan exploded at about 2:39 p.m. local time for unidentified reasons.

The Ulsan firefighting agency was quoted as saying that four sailors, including one South Korean, two Indonesians and one Myanmarese, were wounded for the explosion. A total of 14 sailors were on board the vessel.

Among the four injured, one suffered burns to his face, and three others inhaled toxic gas. But none of them is in life- threatening condition.

There was no fire breaking out after the explosion, but a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acid was leaked from the vessel.

The explosion was believed to have occurred while the mixed acid was being loaded into the vessel, but the exact cause is still under investigation. Endi