SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – A fire caused by exploding lithium batteries at a manufacturing factory near South Korea's capital on Monday killed 22 Chinese migrant workers and injured eight, officials said.
Fire officials cited an eyewitness as saying the fire broke out when batteries exploded while workers were inspecting and packing on the second floor of the factory, just south of Seoul, around 10:30 p.m. They said that they will investigate the cause of the fire.
Local fire officer Kim Jin-young told a televised briefing that the dead included 18 Chinese, two South Koreans and one Laotian. He said that the nationality of one of the dead could not be immediately confirmed.
In the past few decades, many people from China, including those of Korean descent, have migrated to South Korea in search of jobs. Like other foreign migrants from Southeast Asian countries, they often end up in factories or in physically demanding and low-paying jobs that are shunned by more affluent South Koreans.
One of Kim's factory workers also remained out of touch and rescuers continued to search the site. He said that the condition of two of the eight injured is critical.
The fire broke out in a factory building owned by a company called Aircell. Kim said the victims were likely unable to escape to the ground via the stairs. He said authorities will investigate whether fire-fighting systems were in place at the site and if they worked.
A total of 102 people were working in the factory before the fire, Kim said.
Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, the country's No. 2 official, and Interior and Security Minister Lee Sang-min visited the site late Monday. According to Han's office, Han asked officials to provide government support for funeral services and support programs for victims' families.
TV footage also showed President Yoon Seok-yul, wearing a protective helmet and mask, visiting the scene with other officials.
Monday's fire is South Korea's deadliest in recent years.
In 2020, a fire at a warehouse under construction in the city of Icheon, south of Seoul, killed 38 construction workers. In 2018, 46 people died in a fire in a small hospital in the southern city of Meriang that did not have a sprinkler system. In 2008, 40 workers, 12 of whom were ethnic Koreans with Chinese citizenship, died in a fire and subsequent explosions at a refrigerated warehouse in the city of Icheon.
South Korea has struggled for decades to improve safety standards and change widespread attitudes that see safety as subordinate to economic growth and convenience.