In Hwaseong city, south of Seoul, a lithium battery manufacturing factory caught fire on Monday, resulting in the tragic loss of over 20 lives. The majority of the deceased were Chinese workers, as confirmed by officials. The rescue team retrieved the bodies after an extensive search of the site, as reported by local fire official Kim Jin-young during a televised briefing.
According to company officials, at least 18 Chinese workers and one Laotian were killed in the factory fire, as reported by the Reuters news agency. The nationalities of three other fatalities remained unclear, according to Kim. The mobile phone signals of the missing people were traced to the factory’s second floor, as per Kim. A witness informed the authorities that the fire started when workers were inspecting and packing batteries, which caused them to explode, but the exact cause will be investigated.
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According to Kim, it is likely that those who were found dead failed to escape through the stairs leading to the ground. He further added that officials will investigate whether the fire extinguishing systems functioned as they were designed to do.
According to him, the factory had a workforce of 102 individuals at the time of the fire outbreak.
As the South Korean television aired a live video broadcast, it captured the firefighters in action, dousing the heavily damaged steel and concrete building. The upper floor of the building had completely collapsed, and large chunks of concrete seemed to have been blown out into the street by the sheer force of an explosion.
According to Kim Jae-ho, a professor specializing in fire and disaster prevention at Daejeon University, the rapid spread of the fire may have made it difficult for a significant number of workers to evacuate in time.
According to his statement, nickel and other battery materials are highly susceptible to catching fire, making it difficult to react in time compared to other materials.
According to his office, President Yoon Suk Yeol has instructed officials to deploy all available personnel and equipment to locate any survivors.
