Fire at South Korean battery factory, 20 bodies found

The fire broke out at around 10:30 a.m. local time at a factory owned by battery maker Aricell in Hwaseong, south of Seoul. Firefighters brought the blaze under control at around 3:10 p.m., more than four hours after it started, and entered the factory to search for victims.

Emergency workers carry the body of a person killed in a deadly fire at a lithium battery plant owned by South Korean battery maker Aricell, in Hwaseong, South Korea, June 24. Photo: Reuters

The fire started after a series of batteries exploded inside a warehouse containing about 35,000 of them, said Kim Jin-young, a local fire official.

Firefighters said they had found about 20 bodies at the scene of the fire. The dead are believed to be among 23 people missing in the fire, amid fears the death toll could rise further.

Earlier, television footage showed small explosions repeatedly occurring with sparks in the three-storey reinforced concrete building with a total floor area of about 2,300 square metres.

Firefighters are said to have had difficulty completely extinguishing the blaze as the burning lithium batteries are difficult to tackle using conventional fire-fighting methods.

The Hwaseong Fire Department said the fire spread rapidly as battery cells inside repeatedly exploded, making it difficult for rescuers to reach. At least 35,000 batteries are believed to be inside the factory.

The South Korean government convened an emergency meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters in the afternoon to discuss measures to minimize casualties from the disaster.

At the meeting, Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min asked all relevant government agencies and local governments to mobilize all available resources and manpower to extinguish the fire and rescue survivors.

Ngoc Anh (according to Yonhap, Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/hoa-hoan-tai-nha-may-pin-han-quoc-tim-thay-20-thi-the-post300554.html