South Korea battery plant fire kills at least 16

A powerful explosion set a lithium battery factory on fire in South Korea on Monday, killing at least 16 people, and a search and rescue operation is under way for five others who remain missing, officials said.

The fire, which has largely been extinguished, ripped through the factory run by battery manufacturer Aricell in Hwaseong, a major industrial cluster about 90 minutes south-west of the capital Seoul.

The blaze began after a series of battery cells exploded inside a warehouse storing about 35,000 units, said Kim Jin-young, a fire official. What triggered the explosion is under investigation, he added.

A Reuters witness saw firefighters moving up to six bodies out of the factory. Due to the intensity of the blaze, rescuers have found it difficult to identify the dead, Mr Kim added.

Yonhap news agency had earlier reported about 20 bodies had been found inside the plant, but Mr Kim said 16 had died and two others were suffering from burns and other serious injuries.

He said rescuers were inside the factory trying to find the five people unaccounted for.

Kim Jae-ho, fire and disaster prevention professor at Daejeon University, said the flames had probably spread too quickly for workers to escape.

"Battery materials such as nickel are easily flammable," he said. "So often there is not enough time to respond, compared to a fire caused by other materials."

President Yoon Suk Yeol was monitoring the situation, his office said, while Interior Minister Lee Sang-min called on the local authorities to take steps to prevent any hazardous chemicals from contaminating the surroundings.

Established in 2020, Aricell makes lithium primary batteries for sensors and radio communication devices. It has 48 employees, according to its latest regulatory filing and its LinkedIn profile.

Calls to Aricell offices were unanswered.

Live TV footage showed firefighters spraying the damaged steel and concrete building. Parts of the upper level have collapsed and chunks of the building look like they had been blown out into the street by an explosion.

South Korea, a major industrial economy, has made efforts to improve its safety record after several high-profile accidents, many of which have been blamed on negligence.