Fire Authorities: "36 Dead in Icheon Logistics Warehouse Fire" (Update)

On the afternoon of the 29th, firefighters are conducting extinguishing operations at the site of a fire at a logistics warehouse construction site in Moga-myeon, Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, where multiple casualties occurred. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] As of 7:30 PM on the 29th, 36 people have been confirmed dead due to a fire that broke out around 1:32 PM at a logistics warehouse construction site in Icheon-si, Gyeonggi Province.

The police and fire authorities announced that after the fire was completely extinguished at 6:42 PM, an additional 11 bodies were found during the subsequent search, increasing the death toll. The number of injured was reported as 1 seriously injured and 9 with minor injuries.

The Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters confirmed that 78 workers from 9 companies were working at the site during the fire. The sudden increase in fatalities is attributed to the fire authorities controlling the flames and intensifying the search for victims. There is a possibility that more casualties will be added as the search continues.

The fire authorities believe that an explosion occurred in the basement of the warehouse under construction, which then caused the fire to spread. A fire official stated, "Considering that the victims appear to have been unable to evacuate at all, it is presumed that an unexplained explosion occurred," adding, "The fire seems to have spread very quickly, possibly related to work involving flammable materials such as urethane foam."

The fire authorities issued a Level 2 response, deploying about 70 pieces of equipment including pump trucks and around 150 firefighters to extinguish the fire, successfully controlling the major flames around 6:42 PM, approximately 5 hours after the fire started. The fire response levels range from 1 to 3 depending on the scale of the fire. Level 1 involves joint response by up to 4 fire stations, Level 2 involves 5 to 9 fire stations, and Level 3 involves 10 or more fire stations working together to extinguish the fire.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.