뉴스노믹스 AJAY ANGELINA 기자 |
More than 20 bodies were discovered at the fire site of the Aricell plant, a specialized manufacturer in lithium
thiony/chloride battery production system in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea on Monday June 24,
2024.
The reports notified that a powerful explosion occurred at 10:31 a.m. (0131 GMT) after a series of battery cells exploded inside a warehouse with some 35,000 units at Aricell company, a major industrial cluster about 90 minutes southwest of the capital Seoul.
According to the police and fire authorities, more than 20 dead bodies has been found after an internal search began in Building 3 of the Aricell factory that caught fire at 3 pm.
Among the dead are 20 foreign nationals, 2 Koreans and 1 unidentified person.
Out of 20 foreign nationals,18 are Chinese workers and one Laotian but the nationality of the remaining deceased worker is not yet confirmed, said Kim Jin-young, a local fire official.
As the bodies found in the fire were severely damaged, and it will take a time to identify the deceased by following DNA tests, said the authorities.
Kim Jae-ho, Fire and Disaster Prevention professor at Daejeon University said, “The fire had probably spread too quickly for workers to escape.”
"Battery materials such as nickel are easily flammable. So often, there is not enough time to respond, compared to a fire caused by other materials" he added
As per 6:30 pm recent report, at least 22 workers dead, eight injured and one missing according to local authorities
