Ten workers are dead and four remain missing after a fire tore through an auto-parts factory in Daejeon on Friday afternoon, injuring at least 59 others — 25 of them seriously — and forcing some to jump from windows to escape.

Approximately 170 employees were inside Anjeon Industrial Co.’s plant in the Daedeok-gu district when the blaze was reported at 1:17 p.m. local time. Witnesses described an explosion followed by rapid fire spread, according to PBS News. Some workers, cut off by smoke and flames, leapt from upper floors, sustaining injuries on impact.

A Dangerous Search

Firefighters could not enter the building immediately. Structural instability and the presence of some 200 kilograms of highly reactive sodium complicated rescue efforts, according to the Korea Herald. More than 500 emergency personnel, 120 vehicles, and unmanned firefighting robots were eventually deployed. The fire was declared extinguished roughly ten hours after ignition, but the first body was not recovered until nearly 11 p.m.

President Lee Jae Myung ordered “full mobilization of personnel and equipment to contain the fire and support rescue operations,” according to PBS News — a direct presidential intervention that signals the political gravity of the disaster.

South Korea has the third-worst industrial safety record among OECD nations, with roughly 1,000 workers dying in workplace accidents each year, according to the Korea Economic Institute of America. The cause of Friday’s fire remains under investigation.

Sources

• Fire at Daejeon auto-parts plant kills 10, 4 still missing as search continues — The Korea Herald
• 10 dead, 4 unaccounted for in fire at auto parts plant in Daejeon — The Korea Herald
• Fire at South Korean auto parts factory injures at least 55 — PBS News
• South Korea Confronts Dangerous Workplaces — Korea Economic Institute of America