OLONGAPO CITY—Two workers died while three others were injured in an explosion Friday inside a South Korean shipbuilding plant off Redondo Bay in Subic, Zambales, police said.

Jeremias Adamos, 30, and Mario Lacsamana, 29, both employees of the Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co. Ltd., died in the explosion that rocked Hanjin’s assembly shop on Dry Dock No. 5 at about 11:30 a.m.

Three other workers—Jonathan Martinez, 30; Gilbert Suvan, 29; and Donard Eligio, 28—were brought to a hospital here for treatment.

Accident

Supt. Cesar Jacob, Subic police chief, said initial investigation showed that an ember from an iron rod that was being welded might have dropped onto an oily part of the floor.

This was initially thought to have triggered a fire and the succeeding explosion, Jacob said.

Armand Arreza, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority administrator, said an investigation of the explosion was necessary to determine whether Hanjin and its subcontractors had been remiss in the implementation of safety measures at the work site.

“We regret the incident and sympathize with the families of those who were killed,” said Jong Yu Pyeong, general manager of the Subic facility, in a statement.

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

2nd fatal accident

This was the second accident known to have happened at Hanjin since it operated in Subic in late 2006.

The first, which happened on Dec. 24 last year, involved a worker who died after he fell from a truck driven by a Korean engineer.

Hanjin committed to invest $1.6 billion in Subic, making it the single biggest investment in the Philippines in 2005. When fully operational, it said it planned to hire 15,000 workers.

It set up dry docks at Subic Bay Freeport’s Redondo Bay near eight coastal villages of Subic town.

Last year, a malaria outbreak plagued at least 321 workers and residents in and around the shipbuilding facility.

But officials of the Department of Health in Central Luzon said the outbreak had been controlled.

A DOH report said Hanjin, its subcontractors, and the local and provincial governments would have to take measures to prevent future epidemics because malaria has been found to be “endemic” in the area.