SUBIC BAY FREEPORT ZONE -- An incident report on the accident at the Hanjin shipyard that killed two welders and injured three others on Friday showed that there “was no safety officer and/or fire watch in the vicinity while the work was going on.”

This was disclosed by Councilor Ed Piano, who heads the Olongapo City council’s committee on labor, to the Olongapo Subic Bay News on Saturday.

As a recommendation, the report said a safety officer, who should have been present at the site, must have conducted gas-free inspection before the start of work.

Armand Arreza, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority administrator, has ordered an investigation of the accident. He said the SBMA would order the closure of the company if the agency found it to have violated standard occupational health and safety regulations.

Two versions

The accident in Drydock No. 5 at 11 a.m. on Friday killed Jeremias Adamos and Mario Laxamana, and injured Jonathan Martinez, Gilbert Suva (earlier reported as Suvan) and Donard Elija.

The report claimed that many other workers were traumatized by the explosion.

It has two versions of the incident.

The first account said the victims were doing overhead grinding when Martinez and Suva noticed the presence of oil spills on the deck which came from the cleaning operation on the propeller.

It said the spills might not actually be oil but some cleaning agent more volatile than oil.

Other workers said sparks from cutting (using oxy-acetylene torch) and grinding operation that fell on the volatile liquid could have started the fire.

Sparks

Another account said the sparks actually fell on the acetylene gas rubber hose. The punctures on the hose created by hot molten metals caused the flammable gas to leak, according to the report.

“The gas leak built up in the propeller alley compartment during their 10 a.m. break time. When they (workers) returned for work at 11 a.m., the compartment was already saturated by a highly combustible gas,” Piano’s report said.

“A spark from either the welding, grinding or cutting operation ignited the combustible gas which caused the explosion and the fire,” it added.

In less than a month, three accidents have occurred in the worksite of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Inc. These have resulted in four work-related deaths and injuries to scores of people.

Hanjin general manager, Jong Yu Pyeong, said the company regretted Friday’s incident and sympathized with families of the victims.

“We reiterate our commitment to ensuring the safety of the workers, whether they are working with the subcontractor or not,” he said in a statement.

Laxamana had been working for Hanjin for only one and a half months at the time of the accident. He was scheduled to fly to the Middle East next month. Adamos was set to wed in March.