Most Victims in 'Hwaseong Fire' Are Foreigners... "Only Gender Can Be Identified"

22 Deaths at Arisel Factory... 1 More Missing
20 Foreigners Among the Deceased... Severe Body Mutilation Reported

The death toll from the fire at the Arisel factory, a primary battery manufacturer in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province, has risen to 22. In addition to the confirmed fatalities, one more missing person who had been out of contact has been added, raising the possibility of a larger scale of casualties.

On the 24th, the Hwaseong Fire Department in Gyeonggi Province announced at a briefing at the fire site that as of 6:30 p.m., the number of casualties was 22 dead, 2 seriously injured, and 6 lightly injured. The fire authorities explained that they are continuing search operations for one person who has not been reached in addition to the 30 casualties identified so far.

On the 24th, firefighters are recovering bodies at the scene of a fire at a primary battery manufacturing factory located in Seosin-myeon, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Of the 22 deceased, 20 are foreigners. There are 18 Chinese nationals, 1 Laotian national, and 1 unidentified. The remaining 2 have been confirmed as Korean nationals. The personal details of the deceased have not yet been confirmed. Due to the severe damage to the bodies, only the gender can be distinguished at this time, and accurate identification is expected to be possible after DNA testing and other procedures.

All the deceased were found on the second floor of Building 3 of the Arisel factory, the point of origin of the fire. The area of the second floor is 1,185 square meters, which is approximately 350 pyeong.

A fire official said, "According to the rescue team, many deceased were found on the right side when entering inside via the stairs," and added, "Inside, there are two partitioned areas and one workshop, so from above, there are a total of three partitioned sections." The fire authorities plan to continue search operations to find the one missing person who is out of contact.

Earlier that day, at around 10:31 a.m., a fire broke out at the Arisel factory located in Seosin-myeon, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province. The fire authorities issued a Level 2 preemptive response due to the fire occurring at a facility handling hazardous chemicals and concerns about casualties and fire spread. The major flames were controlled at around 3:10 p.m., 4 hours and 40 minutes after the fire started, and rescue teams were deployed.