SEOUL, March 20 (Reuters) – A fire broke out around lunchtime at a car parts factory in the South Korean city of Daejeon on Friday, injuring 55 people, including 24 seriously, while 14 others were unaccounted for, fire authorities said.
The South Korean government activated a centralised disaster management system for the large-scale accident after President Lee Jae Myung ordered the mobilisation of all available resources to deal with the fire and save lives.
More casualties are feared, with 14 people missing. Phone data showed their locations near where the fire broke out, but officials said search efforts were hampered after the building partially collapsed in the blaze.
Many employees were believed to have been in a second-floor break room when the fire started, fire authorities said. Some people were injured after jumping from the building to escape, officials added.
As of about 6 p.m. local time, roughly 80% of the fire had been contained, authorities said.
Fire officials said the car parts supplier that owned the factory was Anjun Industrial, which said on its website it makes engine valves and is a supplier for Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp, among others.
Officials at Anjun were not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Editing by Ed Davies, Aidan Lewis and Jan Harvey)
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