Fire Brokes out at South Korean auto parts factory, 53 injured

A fire at an auto parts factory in South Korea’s central city of Daejeon injured at least 53 people on Friday as officials warned the the number of those hurt could rise.

Nam Deuk-woo, fire chief of the city’s Daedeok district, said 24 of those people were seriously hurt and authorities were searching for at least 14 others believed to have been inside the facility when the fire broke out.

Officials could not immediately confirm whether any of the injured were in life-threatening condition. Video from



the scene showed thick gray smoke billowing from the complex.

The fire was reported at about 1.17 pm, and Nam said the cause was not immediately known, but the blaze appeared to have spread rapidly with witnesses reportedly hearing an explosion.

He said the fire destroyed a factory building that firefighters were unable to enter because of concerns over the possible collapse of the structure. Efforts focused on preventing the blaze from spreading to an adjacent facility and removing chemicals from the site.