Fire shuts thermal power plant unit in Boryeong

A fire broke out at the nation’s biggest thermal power plant in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, on Thursday night.

The blaze was put out completely in Friday morning. No one was killed or injured.

The blaze started on a power cable in the basement of Unit 1. A total of 402 fire fighters and 30 fire trucks rushed to the site.

The unit has stopped generating electricity. Unit 2’s operation was also halted due to planned maintenance work. The Boryeong power plant has four units, which supply 8 percent of the nation’s electricity.

The authorities said there would be no supply trouble with the two closed units because electricity reserves will still stay above 20 percent.

Fire officers said they are investigating the cause of the fire and assessing the damage.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)