The three-storey Aricell plant in Hwaseong caught fire this morning, causes still unknown. Some 22 people are confirmed dead, mostly from China, but many are still missing. Firefighting crews struggled with the blaze because of burning lithium batteries. The government held an emergency meeting.

Rome (AsiaNews/Agencies) – At least 22 people have died in a fire that broke out around 10.30 am today following a powerful explosion at the Aricell lithium battery factory in Hwaseong, 45 kilometres south of Seoul.

It is feared that the number of deaths could rise further since 23 people are also missing. Most of the dead are from China, but one is from Laos, the fire department reported.

The blaze spread rapidly as the battery cells inside exploded continuously, making it hard for rescuers to enter the premises and search. At least 35,000 batteries are believed to be inside the plant.

One worker had already died earlier in the day, before the fire spread, after going into cardiac arrest after being taken to hospital, while three others were injured.

The exact number of workers at the plant is unknown since that day’s roster was destroyed.

It took firefighters about four hours to bring the inferno under control, before anyone could enter the premises to look for bodies.

Fire crews struggled to extinguish the blaze using traditional methods because of the difficulty in putting out burning lithium batteries; those made by Aricell are designed for sensors and radio communication devices.

The fire gutted the three-storey, reinforced concrete building that covered a total area of about 2,300 square metres. The causes for the deflagration remain unknown.

Early footage at the start of the tragedy shows small explosions and sparks. In the live broadcast, firefighters are seen spraying the damaged steel and concrete building.

Parts of the upper floor could be seen collapsing, with large chunks of the building blown into the street by a loud explosion. Aerial footage shows huge plumes of smoke rising into the sky above the factory.

Yonhap news agency reports that a witness, who escaped from the second floor of the plant, told the Hwaseong Fire Station that an explosive combustion occurred in one lithium battery cell at the time of the fire, setting off an explosion.

Another witness told Reuters that he saw firefighters take out the bodies of up to six workers unable to flee due to the speed at which the flames spread.

A total of 48 workers were employed at the Hwaseong factory, according to Aricell.

This afternoon, the government convened an emergency meeting at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters to discuss measures to minimise casualties.

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

Earlier, President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed Minister Lee to mobilise all available manpower and equipment to search for and rescue the missing people.

This incident puts the spotlight back on occupational safety in South Korea, one of the world’s leading industrial economies.

In recent years, South Korean authorities have worked on improving the situation, caused mainly by widespread negligence in the past.

• south korea
• lithium battery
• plant
• occupational safety
• chinese immigrations
• explosion
• firefighters