A fire broke out at a lithium battery factory near Seoul on Monday, killing at least 16 workers and leaving six others missing, authorities said.
The death toll from the blaze, South Korea's deadliest in years, is expected to rise as rescuers search the building in Hwaseong, 45 kilometers south of Seoul. Two workers were hospitalized with serious injuries.
Kim Jin-young of Hwaseong City's Fire Department said 102 people were working at the factory, owned by battery maker Aricell, when the blaze began. Many of the dead and missing were migrants from China and other countries who authorities fear may have been trapped inside the buildings.
Kim said workers fleeing the blaze said one of 35,000 lithium battery cells stored on the second floor of the factory had caught fire, sparking a series of explosions.
The internal layers of a lithium battery can become compressed, causing a short circuit and possibly a fire. The internal layers can become compressed from a sudden impact, such as a vehicle collision, or from the gradual expansion of the battery during normal use.
Lithium is a metal that can store a lot of energy in a small space, which is what makes it attractive as a battery material. But that also means it has a lot of energy that can turn into heat and flames if it shorts out. Lithium battery fires have been a growing problem in the U.S. and elsewhere, and fires are an industry-wide concern for battery makers.
Arisel, the owner of the Hwaseong plant, makes batteries often used to run “smart grid” power grids.
Intense flames, toxic smoke and the risk of further explosions hampered firefighters' efforts to search for the missing workers on Monday. Television footage of the blaze showed orange flames and thick clouds of smoke rising from the factory. Footage taken after the blaze was extinguished showed charred buildings and caved-in roofs.
More than 160 firefighters and 60 fire engines were rushed to put out the blaze, with President Yoon Seok-yeo calling on the government to “mobilize all available human resources and equipment.”
The fire was South Korea's deadliest since a blaze at a construction site southeast of Seoul in 2020 killed 38 people.
South Korea is known for its cutting-edge technology and manufacturing industries, but it has long struggled with man-made disasters such as fires.
In 2018, a fire broke out at a hospital that did not have sprinklers, killing about 50 people, mostly elderly patients, who inhaled toxic smoke. In 2017, a fire at a gym and bathhouse complex killed 29 people, and in 2008, a fire at a cold storage warehouse under construction killed 40 workers, including migrant workers.
This is a developing story.