South Korea Battery Plant Fire: 19 Chinese Dead

According to reports from South Korean police and fire departments, a fire broke out at ARICELL's battery manufacturing plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on June 24 at 10:31 AM. The building housed approximately 35,000 finished lithium batteries. The Chinese Embassy in South Korea reported that 19 Chinese nationals have died in the fire.

At the time of the fire, the third building had 67 employees working. The first floor had 15 people, and the second floor had 52 people. The fire originated on the second floor.

Earlier reports indicated that 23 people were missing, including 20 foreign nationals, 2 South Koreans, and one person of unknown identity. As of 4:08 PM local time, over 20 bodies had been found at the scene, according to local police and fire officials.

Before discovering the 20 bodies, the incident had already resulted in 1 death, 2 serious injuries, and 4 minor injuries. A total of 145 firefighters and 50 fire trucks were dispatched to extinguish the blaze. Due to the difficulty of extinguishing lithium battery fires using conventional methods and the intensity of the fire, the firefighting efforts faced significant challenges. By 3:10 PM, firefighters had brought the blaze under control and are continuing their search efforts.