Fire Authorities: "Icheon Fire Death Toll 38, Seriously Injured 8, Minor Injuries 2" (Update)

On the 29th, ambulances lined up in front of warehouse A in Moga-myeon, Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, where a large-scale casualty occurred due to a fire.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] As of 8:30 PM on the 29th, 38 people have been confirmed dead due to a fire that occurred around 1:32 PM at a logistics warehouse construction site in Icheon-si, Gyeonggi Province.

Seo Seung-hyun, Chief of the Icheon Fire Station in Gyeonggi Province, stated during an on-site briefing at around 8:30 PM that "So far, the casualties include 38 dead, 8 critically injured, and 2 with minor injuries," adding, "We are currently identifying additional casualties through search operations." He further explained, "It is presumed that after a large explosion, the polyurethane foam used as insulation caught fire," and "a massive amount of toxic gas was released to the surface."

The Gyeonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters reported that 78 workers from 9 companies were present at the site during the fire. The sudden increase in fatalities is attributed to the fire department intensifying search efforts as they brought the flames under control. There is a possibility that more casualties will be confirmed as additional searches continue.

The fire authorities believe that an explosion occurred in the basement of the logistics warehouse under construction, which then caused the fire to spread. A fire department 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 rapidly, possibly related to work involving the flammable polyurethane foam."

The fire department issued a Level 2 response, deploying 123 pieces of equipment including pump trucks and approximately 410 firefighters to extinguish the fire. The major flames were brought under control around 6:42 PM, about 5 hours after the fire started. The fire department issues response levels 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.