Battery Factory Fire in South Korea Kills 22 Mostly Chinese Workers

Emergency personnel work at the site of a deadly fire at a lithium battery factory owned by South Korean battery maker Aricell, in Hwaseong, South Korea, June 24, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Hong-ji
Emergency personnel work at the site of a deadly fire at a lithium battery factory owned by South Korean battery maker Aricell, in Hwaseong, South Korea, June 24, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Hong-ji
TT
20

Battery Factory Fire in South Korea Kills 22 Mostly Chinese Workers

Emergency personnel work at the site of a deadly fire at a lithium battery factory owned by South Korean battery maker Aricell, in Hwaseong, South Korea, June 24, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Hong-ji
Emergency personnel work at the site of a deadly fire at a lithium battery factory owned by South Korean battery maker Aricell, in Hwaseong, South Korea, June 24, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Hong-ji

A fire likely sparked by exploding lithium batteries swept through a manufacturing factory near South Korea’s capital on Monday, killing 22 mostly Chinese migrant workers and injuring eight, officials said.

The fire began after batteries exploded while workers were examining and packaging them at the second floor of the factory in Hwaseong city, a major industrial cluster about 90 minutes southwest of Seoul, at around 10:30 a.m., fire officials said, citing a witness. 

They said they would investigate the cause of the blaze.

The dead included 18 Chinese, two South Koreans and one Laotian, local fire official Kim Jin-young told a televised briefing. He said the nationality of one of the dead couldn't be immediately verified.

Kim also said one factory worker remained out of contact and rescuers continued to search the site. He said that two of the eight injured were in serious conditions.

The fire started at one of the factory buildings owned by a company named Aricell. Kim said the victims likely failed to escape via stairs to the ground. He said that authorities will investigate whether there were fire extinguishing systems at the site and if they worked.

Kim said a total of 102 people were working at the factory before the fire occurred.

President Yoon Suk Yeol was monitoring the situation, his office said, while Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the country's No. 2 official, and Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min visited the site later Monday.

Han asked officials to provide government assistance for funeral services and support programs for victims' relatives, according to Han's office.

Established in 2020, Aricell makes lithium primary batteries for sensors and radio communication devices. It has 48 employees, according to its latest regulatory filing and its LinkedIn profile.



Netherlands Summons Iranian Ambassador over Alleged Assassination Attempts

An anti-Israeli billboard reads 'Once again, a Pharaoh will drown' at Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 22 April 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
An anti-Israeli billboard reads 'Once again, a Pharaoh will drown' at Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 22 April 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
TT
20

Netherlands Summons Iranian Ambassador over Alleged Assassination Attempts

An anti-Israeli billboard reads 'Once again, a Pharaoh will drown' at Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 22 April 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
An anti-Israeli billboard reads 'Once again, a Pharaoh will drown' at Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 22 April 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

Iran's ambassador to the Netherlands was summoned on Thursday after the Dutch intelligence agency said it suspected Tehran of being behind two assassination attempts in Europe, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
The Dutch general intelligence agency, known as the AIVD, said in its annual report published on Thursday that two men were arrested in June 2024 in the Dutch town of Haarlem after an assassination attempt there on an Iranian residing in the country.
One of the suspects is also suspected of the failed assassination attempt on Spanish politician and Iran critic Alejo Vidal-Quadras in Madrid in November 2023, Reuters quoted it as saying.
"The two assassination attempts fit into the modus operandi that Iran has been using for years: using criminal networks in Europe to silence purported opponents of the regime. Based on intelligence, it is likely that Iran is responsible for the two liquidation attempts," the AIVD said.
Several months after surviving the shooting attack, Vidal-Quadras, who co-founded the Spanish far-right party Vox, said he believed that Iran's government had hired hitmen to assassinate him over his links to an Iranian dissident group, without providing evidence of the assertion.