14 killed in South Korea car plant fire

A fire at a South Korea car parts plant killed 10 people, authorities told AFP on March 21, with rescuers still searching for four missing.[AFP]

Fourteen people were killed in a fire in a car parts factory in South Korea that also injured 59 others, authorities told AFP Saturday, updating a previous toll of 11 fatalities.

Fire crews were initially unable to enter the factory in the central city of Daejeon to look for survivors due to the risk of the building collapsing.

The response was also hampered by sodium stored at the site, which can explode if improperly handled, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

Around 170 workers were at the plant when the fire broke out at about 1:00 pm (0400 GMT) Friday, according to Yonhap.

"We can confirm the latest death toll has risen to 14, with no one reported missing," an official from the interior ministry's department that handles fires and other disasters told AFP.

Officials have not said what may have caused the fire, which spread rapidly. A witness told Yonhap about hearing an explosion.

Fire crews could be seen shooting water onto the site from cranes while a thick column of black smoke filled the sky in images released by Yonhap.

The fire was extinguished by Saturday afternoon.

President Lee Jae Myung visited the site and met bereaved families, promising to provide full support for victims and their families, Yonhap said.

"The government will thoroughly investigate the cause of the incident and prepare fundamental measures to prevent such tragedies," Lee wrote on X.

Wealthy South Korea has a patchy record on labour safety, with more than 10,000 worksite deaths between 2000 and 2024, according to official statistics.

In September, South Korea sentenced the CEO of battery maker Aricell to 15 years in prison over one of the country's worst industrial fires.

The 2024 blaze at the lithium battery factory in Hwaseong, south of capital Seoul, killed 22 people, most of them Chinese nationals.

In its verdict, the Suwon District Court said the company had prioritised profit over workers' safety.