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SEOUL: Rescuers combed the charred wreckage of a South Korean car parts factory for missing people after a fire killed at least 11 and injured dozens more, authorities said on Saturday (Mar 21).
"We understand that 11 are dead, 25 are seriously injured," an official from the interior ministry's department that handles fires and other disasters told AFP.
"We also understand that 34 have been injured but not in a serious condition, and three are still missing," he added.
More than 500 firefighters, police and emergency personnel were deployed to contain the fire and conduct rescue operations after the fire broke out Friday afternoon.
Videos and photos from the scene showed thick gray smoke billowing from the complex and some workers jumping from a building.
Nam Deuk-woo, fire chief of the city’s Daedeok district, said the blaze destroyed a factory building that firefighters initially could not enter over fears it might collapse.
Searches for the missing workers began late Friday after officials deployed unmanned firefighting robots to cool the structure and conducted a safety inspection.
The fire was reported at about 1.18 pm. A total of 170 workers were in the plant when the fire started, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
The safety ministry said on Saturday in a statement the fire had been contained since 11.48 pm on Friday.
Nam said the cause was not immediately known, but the blaze appeared to have spread rapidly, with witnesses reporting an explosion.
Firefighters focused on preventing the blaze from spreading to an adjacent facility and removing chemicals from the site. Nam said workers recovered more than 100 kg of highly reactive chemicals from the site.
Some people were injured when they jumped from the building to escape, while others suffered from smoke inhalation, Nam said.
About 120 vehicles and pieces of equipment including aircraft, an unmanned water cannon vehicle and two firefighting robots for hard-to-reach areas, were deployed along with hundreds of personnel.
President Lee Jae Myung called for the full mobilisation of personnel and equipment to contain the fire and support rescue operations.
Fire officials said the car parts supplier that owned the factory was Anjun Industrial, which makes engine valves and is a supplier for Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp, among others, according to its website.
Officials at Anjun were not immediately available for comment.
