'38 Dead' Icheon Disaster Detailed Search... Some Remains, Cell Phones Recovered

Second Search Scheduled for Tomorrow... Some Remains and Mobile Phones Collected

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The police recovered some remains of the deceased and mobile phones during a detailed search at the Icheon construction site fire scene.

The 'Icheon Construction Site Fire Accident' that occurred on the 29th of last month took place at a logistics warehouse in Moga-myeon, Icheon-si, Gyeonggi Province. The accident resulted in a massive disaster with an explosion and a large fire spreading, causing 38 workers to die and 10 to be injured.

According to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency on the 2nd, the Icheon Fire Investigation Headquarters conducted a detailed search for about seven hours that day. The search focused on finding some of the remains and personal belongings of the deceased that had not yet been recovered. Two excavators and 13 forensic investigators were deployed for the search.

At a press briefing held at the scene, Jeong Yo-seop, head of the forensic investigation team at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, said, "We will not disclose specific details about the recovered remains," adding, "It will be more accurate after receiving the National Forensic Service's analysis results."

The police plan to conduct a second detailed search on the 3rd, focusing on the basement level 1 of the building, as the search was not completed perfectly on the day. Earlier, through DNA testing requested from the National Forensic Service, the police confirmed the identities of 8 out of 9 unidentified victims among the 38 deceased and informed their families of this fact.

Additionally, the police completed autopsies on 13 of the deceased by that day. The total number of autopsy subjects is 18, including 3 people for whom additional autopsy warrants were applied on the day because the cause of death was not clearly identified through blood tests alone.

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