A large hearth at a lithium battery manufacturing unit in South Korea has killed a number of staff.
The blaze broke out on Monday morning on the Aricell plant in Hwaseong metropolis, about 45km (28 miles) south of the capital Seoul.
Native tv footage confirmed small explosions going off as firefighters sought to place out the hearth.
South Korea is a number one producer of lithium batteries, that are utilized in many gadgets from electrical automobiles to laptops.
Not less than 16 individuals have died up to now within the blaze, Reuters reported citing a fireplace official, although the ultimate dying toll might possible be greater. The Yonhap information company stated round 20 our bodies had been discovered.
The Aricell manufacturing unit housed an estimated 35,000 battery cells on its second flooring, the place the batteries have been inspected and packaged, with extra saved elsewhere.
The reason for the hearth is just not but recognized. Officers stated eyewitnesses heard a collection of explosions on the second flooring across the time the hearth broke out.
About 100 staff have been on the premises on the time.
Native hearth official Kim Ji-young stated it was troublesome to enter the location initially “on account of fears of extra explosions”. The consecutive explosions of battery cells led to the fast unfold of the hearth, he added.
As a lithium hearth can react intensely with water, firefighters had to make use of dry sand to extinguish the blaze, which took a number of hours to get below management.
