Fire at Daejeon Hyundai Outlet, 7 Dead... Mayor Lee Jang-woo of Daejeon Returns Early

On the morning of the 26th, the Hyundai Premium Outlet building located in Yongsan-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon was engulfed in thick black smoke rising from the basement. Photo by Daejeon City

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The death toll from the fire at Daejeon Hyundai Premium Outlet has risen to seven.

According to the Daejeon Fire Headquarters on the 26th, three additional bodies were found around 4:20 PM on the first floor of Hyundai Outlet Jaha.

The Fire Headquarters estimates that the newly discovered deceased are Hyundai Outlet employees who were reported missing in the morning.

Including them, the total number of deaths from the Hyundai Outlet fire has reached seven.

One person in their 40s who was injured at the scene in the morning and transported to the hospital has not yet regained consciousness.

Earlier, the Fire Headquarters received reports from employees who escaped the scene during the fire saying, "We cannot contact our colleagues," and conducted search and rescue operations for the missing persons.

Meanwhile, Lee Jang-woo, the mayor of Daejeon, who was on an overseas business trip, will return early to manage the aftermath of the Hyundai Outlet fire. The mayor has arranged for Ambassador Lee Hyung-jong of International Relations to act on his behalf for remaining schedules such as delivering a speech at the solar power general meeting, and is expected to return on the 27th to visit the accident site.

Separately, the Daejeon city government has formed and is operating an "Emergency Accident Response Support Team" led by the Deputy Mayor to handle the Hyundai Outlet accident.

The Daejeon Police Agency has established and will operate an "Investigation Headquarters," with the head of the investigation division as the chief, and the head of the criminal division and the chief of Yuseong Police Station as deputy chiefs.