Breaking: Fire at Lithium Battery Factory Kills at Least 16 in South Korea

A fire at a lithium battery factory in South Korea killed at least 16 people and left six others missing on Monday, local fire authorities reported. 

The blaze started around 10:31 a.m. local time at a facility operated by battery maker Aricell in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, approximately 50 kilometres southwest of Seoul.

The fire was extinguished by around 3:10 p.m., allowing firefighters to enter the factory, according to Hwaseong Fire Department official Kim Jin-young during a briefing. 

Rescue workers recovered 15 burned bodies, with another person having died earlier from cardiac arrest. Foreign nationals were among those missing, Kim noted.

Emergency personnel carried the body of a person killed in the fire at the factory owned by Aricell on June 24, 2024, as shown in a photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters. Two individuals sustained serious burns, while five others suffered minor injuries, Kim added.

The factory’s worker directory was destroyed, complicating the victim identification process, Kim said.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed the Interior and Safety Ministry and the fire department head to “make all-out efforts” to rescue individuals by “mobilising all available personnel and equipment.”
Source: CNN