An early investigation suggests “unauthorised structures” inside an automobile parts factory in South Korea might have led to the high death toll in the fire on Friday that killed at least 14 people, reports said.
The fire at the factory in the central city of Daejeon was one of South Korea’s deadliest industrial accidents in recent years, according to media reports.
Rescue workers recovered the remains of 14 people from the charred wreckage on Saturday as fire officials said at least 60 others were injured. More than 500 firefighters, police, and emergency personnel were deployed to contain the fire and conduct rescue operations after it broke out on Friday afternoon.
Videos and photos from the scene showed thick gray smoke billowing from the complex and some workers jumping from a building belonging to Anjun Industrial.
Fire authorities believe the flames erupted on the first floor before black smoke surged through the stairwell and into the upper levels within minutes, according to the Korea Herald. Residual cutting oil and grease coating machinery acted as accelerants, according to the report.
A mezzanine rest area on the second floor, where nine victims were found together, was not part of the original architectural plans and had been built informally within the factory’s high-ceilinged interior, according to authorities, the report said.
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.
Three victims were found near a water tank on the second floor. All the missing have now been accounted for.
South Korean president Lee Jae Myung visited the site Saturday afternoon, meeting with relatives of the victims and calling for safety measures to prevent the damaged structure from collapsing during search operations.
The fire was reported at about 1.18 pm on Friday. Mr 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 isolating explosive chemicals. Mr Nam said workers recovered more than 100kg of highly reactive chemicals from the site.
Some people were injured when they jumped from the building to escape, while others suffered smoke inhalation, officials said.
