Beijing’s envoy calls on South Korea to protect its workers after fire kills 17 Chinese
- Chinese worker says she did not see fire drill in month at factory where she said Korean-Chinese women aged 30-40 made up most of workforce
Ambassador Xing Haiming said the embassy would work with the local authorities “to do its best in the aftermath of the accident” as he arrived at the fire-stricken lithium battery factory in Hwaseong, south of the South Korean capital.
“We hope that the South Korean enterprises concerned will learn a painful lesson so that similar accidents will not happen in the future, and [to] effectively safeguard the lives and health of Chinese citizens,” he added.
02:50
Like 'raining bullets': fire kills over 20 factory workers in South Korea
The blaze broke out around 10.30am in a building around 45km (28 miles) south of Seoul that is owned by Aricell and used for lithium battery production.
At least 23 people have been confirmed dead, according to the region’s fire department. The Chinese embassy has confirmed 17 of the victims who died were Chinese nationals. One Chinese citizen suffered minor injuries.
In an initial briefing, the fire department said the blaze broke out on the second floor of the building. The bodies of the victims – who had been inspecting and packaging finished battery products – were found on the same floor.
The exact cause of the fire could not be determined, but the fire department said “one of the battery cells exploded”.
“When the first firefighters arrived, the battery cells inside the factory exploded continuously and the fire spread rapidly, making it difficult to extinguish the fire,” said Kim Jin-young, head of the disaster prevention department at Hwaseong fire station.
