“Twenty foreigners are among the dead,” says firefighter Kim Jin-young.
Seoul:
Twenty-two people died – including 18 Chinese nationals – in a massive fire at a South Korean lithium battery factory, the fire department said on Monday, one of the country’s worst factory disasters in years.
More than 100 people were working at the factory when workers heard a series of explosions on the second floor, where lithium-ion batteries were being inspected and packed, firefighter Kim Jin-young told media.
In the huge fire that followed, 22 people were killed, including 20 foreign nationals – 18 Chinese, one from Laos and one of unknown nationality, he said.
At least 21 people died in a fire at a lithium battery factory in South Korea. pic.twitter.com/kzQKnhbOYf
– Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) June 24, 2024
“Most of the bodies are badly burned, so it will take some time to identify each one,” he added.
Firefighters were still searching for one more missing person, he said, adding that they were able to contain the largest fire at the plant and get inside.
Firefighters were “carrying out cooling operations to prevent the fire from expanding to nearby factories,” Kim said.
Dozens of fire trucks were lined up outside the factory, an AFP reporter saw, with rescuers carrying bodies, covered in blue blankets, out of the building on stretchers.
Images shared by Yonhap after the fire broke out showed huge clouds of gray smoke rising into the sky above the factory, with orange flames inside the building.
The vast factory had around 35,000 battery cells stored on the second floor, with more batteries stored in other areas.
Lithium batteries burn hot and quickly and are difficult to control with conventional fire suppression methods.
“Due to the fear of additional explosions, it was difficult to enter,” Kim said, describing the complicated rescue operation.
“As this is a lithium battery manufacturer, we determined that spraying water would not extinguish the fire, so (we used) dry sand,” he added.
The lithium battery factory is owned by Aricell, a South Korean primary battery manufacturer. It is located in the city of Hwaseong, south of the capital Seoul.
Shares of Aricell’s parent company, S-connect, plunged more than 20% on the Seoul stock exchange at the close on Monday. S-connect owns 96% of Aricell.
Lithium batteries are used in everything from laptop computers to electric vehicles – but they can be highly explosive, with airlines, for example, imposing strict regulations on checking devices that contain them.
‘Mobilize all staff’
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol issued emergency instructions to authorities, telling them to “mobilize all available personnel and equipment to focus on searching and rescuing people,” his office said.
The president also warned authorities that they must “guarantee the safety of firefighters taking into account the rapid spread of the fire”.
Authorities in Hwaseong sent a series of alerts to residents, warning them to stay indoors.
“There is a lot of smoke due to factory fires. Please pay attention to safety, such as avoiding leaving your home,” read an alert sent via text message.
“Factory fire. Please divert to neighboring roads and nearby citizens, please close your windows,” read another.
South Korea is a major producer of batteries, including those used in electric vehicles.
Its battery makers supply electric vehicle makers around the world, including Tesla.
The fire is one of South Korea’s worst factory disasters in years.
Previously, the worst chemical factory accident occurred in 1989 at the Lucky Chemical factory in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, which resulted in 16 deaths and 17 injuries.
A warehouse fire in Icheon in 2020 killed 38 people.
(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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