Hanjin accident death: Subcontractor punished

SUBIC, Philippines—The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Central Luzon on Tuesday stopped the operations of the subcontractor of a Korean-owned shipbuilding company here following the death of a worker in its shipyard facility last week.

Raymundo Agravante, DOLE Central Luzon regional director, issued a cease and desist order to Finback Corp., a contractor of the Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp. Philippines, due to the accidental death of its employee, Ryan Gacus.

Explosion

In a statement, Agravante said Gacus was caught in an explosion and suffered severe burn injuries when the oxy-ethylene hose that fueled his cutting torch burst. Gacus died while being treated at a local hospital.

Agravante said an investigation conducted by his office showed “the probable cause” of the accident to be a “pinhole in the middle portion of the gas hose used in cutting works.”

Gacus could not have

detected the gas leak from the pinhole, which ignited as soon as he shut off the cutting torch.

The agency’s order was served by Jose Roberto Navata, labor laws compliance officer. It covers Gacus’ work area.

DOLE had urged Hanjin and Finback Corp. to comply with a number of safety requirements during a recent meeting.

Safety training

Agravante said DOLE now requires Hanjin and its contractor to conduct basic safety awareness training for the skilled workers of Finback.

He said DOLE is also working closely with the two companies to oversee how the firms have extended help to the victim’s family.

Min Hwan Choi, deputy general manager of Hanjin, told the Inquirer that Hanjin felt “sorry for the death” of Gacus and that “the company does not want accidents to happen in the shipyard.” Allan Macatuno, Inquirer Central Luzon and Tina Santos in Manila