At least 11 dead and 3 missing after a South Korean auto plant fire

Signal.- At least 11 people lost their lives and 3 remain missing after a fire broke out on Friday at an automotive components plant in the city of Daejeon, in central South Korea, an incident that also left more than fifty injured, many of them seriously. Rescue teams recovered the remains of the eleventh fatality among the rubble of the burned-out factory this Saturday, where they are still searching for three people, reported the South Korean news agency Yonhap. The incident, which occurred on Friday around 13:17 local time (4:17 GMT), also left at least 59 people injured, 35 of them seriously. A total of 170 workers were inside the plant when the flames, which spread rapidly according to fire reports, ravaged the building.

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Due to fear of the structure collapsing, firefighters were unable to enter the factory at the beginning of the fire extinguishing efforts, which were complicated by the presence of 200 kilograms of sodium inside the facilities. The National Fire Department issued an order to mobilize personnel statewide, considering that the magnitude of the incident exceeded the response capacity of the local authorities and, after approximately 10 hours and 30 minutes, the flames were completely extinguished. The causes of the fire are unknown, Yonhap reported, adding that witnesses to the incident reported an explosion.