Twenty-two people died – including 18 Chinese citizens – in a massive fire at a South Korean lithium battery factorythe fire department reported on Monday, one of the country’s worst factory disasters in years.
More than 100 people were working at the factory when they heard a series of explosions on the second floor.where lithium-ion batteries were inspected and packaged, firefighter Kim Jin-young told the media.
In the huge fire that occurred, 22 people died, 20 of them foreigners: 18 Chinese, one from Laos and another of unknown nationality.
“Most of the bodies are badly burned, so it will take some time to identify them.”s”, he added.
Firefighters are still searching for one more person whose whereabouts remain unknown, he said, adding that they had managed to contain the largest fire at the plant and get inside.
The firefighters were “carrying out cooling operations to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby factories,” Kim said.
Dozens of fire trucks were lined up outside the factory, a reporter from AFPwith rescue workers carrying bodies, covered in blue blankets, out of the building on stretchers.
Images shared by Yonhap after the fire they showed huge plumes of gray smoke rising into the sky above the factory, with orange flames inside the building
It is estimated that some 35,000 batteries were stored on the second floor of the immense factory, in addition to other batteries in other areas.
Lithium batteries burn quickly and at high temperatures, and are difficult to control with conventional firefighting methods.
“Due to fear of more explosions, it was difficult to enter,” Kim explained, describing the complicated rescue operation.
“As this is a lithium battery manufacturer, we had determined that spraying water would not extinguish the fire, so we used dry sand,” he added.
Kim Jae-hoa professor of Fire and Disaster Prevention at Daejeon University, said the fire had probably spread too quickly for workers to escape.
“Battery materials, such as nickel, are easily flammable”, said. “Very often, there is not enough time to respond, compared to a fire caused by other materials.”
The lithium battery plant is owned by Aricell, a South Korean primary battery manufacturer. It is located in the city of Hwaseongsouth of the capital, Seoul.
Shares of Aricell’s parent company, S-connect, plummeted more than 20% on the Seoul Stock Exchange at the close of Monday. S-connect owns 96% of Aricell.
Lithium batteries are used in all types of devices, from laptops to electric vehicles, but they can be very explosive, which is why airlines, for example, impose strict regulations for the control of devices that contain them.
The President of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, gave emergency instructions to the authorities to “mobilize all available personnel and equipment to focus on search and rescue of people”according to his office.
The president also warned authorities that they must “guarantee the safety of firefighters taking into account the rapid spread of the fire.”
Hwaseong authorities sent a series of alerts to residents warning them to stay indoors.
“There is a lot of smoke due to factory fires. Please pay attention to safety, such as refraining from going out,” said an alert sent by text message.
“Fire in a factory. Please detour to surrounding roads and nearby citizens please close your windows,” read another.
South Korea is one of the main battery producersincluding those used in electric vehicles.
Its battery manufacturers supply electric vehicle manufacturers around the world, including tesla.
The fire is one of South Korea’s worst industrial catastrophes in years.
Previously, the worst chemical plant accident occurred in 1989 at the Lucky Chemical factory in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, which caused 16 deaths and 17 injuries.
In 2020, a fire in a warehouse in Icheon caused 38 deaths.
(with information from AFP, Reuters and AP)
