At least 36 people were killed Wednesday when one of South Korea’s worst fires in years broke out at a construction site near the capital, officials said.
Local fire official Oh Jung-hwan said the death toll could rise because more people were believed to be trapped inside the warehouse that was under construction in Icheon, just south of Seoul.
The blaze erupted early in the afternoon and hundreds of firefighters took several hours to put it out. Images from the scene showed several firetrucks and more than a dozen ambulances surrounding the badly damaged structure, which was completely blackened and writhed on one side. Rescue workers in white protective suits were seen carrying out victims in body bags.
The fire broke out when workers were building a warehouse in the city of Icheon, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) southeast of Seoul, they said.
They said "rapid combustion" occurred while workers were working on an underground level of the warehouse, adding that they are investigating the cause of the blaze.
A total of 410 people including 335 firefighters, were mobilized to respond to the accident.
A fire department official was quoted as saying the fire spread "extremely quickly," rendering people inside "unable to evacuate."
Park Soo-jong, an official from Gyeonggi province fire services, said 25 workers were pronounced dead at hospitals and the bodies of 11 others were being recovered at the site.
Ten others were being treated for injuries at nearby hospitals. Officials said about 30 workers managed to escape but at least four were unaccounted for or out of contact.
Officials were investigating the cause of the fire, which was possibly triggered by an explosion while workers were working on an underground level at the site.
"There was no clothing left (on the workers) at all,” said Seo Seung-hyun, head of the Icheon fire department. "We presume that an ignition of oil mist caused an explosion and that the sudden combustion gave the workers no chance to escape.”
South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for officials to mobilize "all available resources” in the search and rescue operation, while Prime Minster Chung Sye-kyun, the country’s No. 2 official, visited the site to inspect the efforts.
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun instructed government officials and the national fire and police agencies to mobilize "all available equipment and personnel” to support the search and rescue operation.
The fire was extinguished five hours after it occurred at 1:32 p.m., Yonhap News Agency said.
