South Korean rescuers on Saturday pulled out the remains of 14 people from the burned debris of an auto parts factory in the city of Daejeon, where at least 59 people were injured in an explosion and fire, the Associated Press reported.
Representatives of the fire service reported that 25 people were seriously injured, but it is still unclear whether anyone's condition is life-threatening or not.
More than 500 firefighters, police and emergency services personnel were involved in the containment and rescue operations of the fire that broke out on Friday afternoon. The factory belongs to Anjun Industrial company.
Nam Dik-Woo, head of the Fire Service of Deok City District, said that the fire destroyed the factory building, which the firemen could not enter at the beginning due to the danger of collapse.
The search for the missing workers began late on Friday evening. Firefighters deployed unmanned firefighting robots to cool down the building and conducted a safety check.
Nine of the 14 dead were found in a room believed to be a gymnasium on the third floor, and three were found near the water tank on the second floor. Currently, the location of all the missing persons has been identified.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung visited the scene on Saturday afternoon, met with relatives of the victims and called for security measures to prevent the collapse of the structure damaged during the search.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.
