Ten people have lost their lives, and four individuals are still unaccounted for following a major fire at a car parts factory in Daejeon, South Korea. An additional 59 individuals sustained varying degrees of injuries in the incident. Firefighters are actively searching for the missing persons who were not present when the fire broke out.
Authorities have confirmed that one body was discovered on the factory’s second floor, while the remaining nine were found on the third floor. The fire, which was reported around 1:17 p.m. on Friday, led to a national firefighting mobilization order being issued due to its extensive scale.
A total of 170 workers were inside the plant at the time of the fire. Initial challenges faced by firefighters included the risk of structural collapse and the presence of 200 kilograms of sodium in the building, which posed an explosion threat if mishandled. Following safety assessments by experts, search operations commenced at 10:50 p.m. on Friday to locate the missing individuals.
Firefighters are committed to conducting thorough search and rescue operations to locate the remaining unaccounted individuals. Plans are underway to dismantle structures identified by rescue dogs for further search efforts. South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok has directed emergency measures to mobilize all resources for rescue and firefighting operations.
