Tragic fire at South Korean battery factory in Seoul kills at least 20

Dramatic scenes in South Korea. At least 20 people have died after a fire broke out in a battery factory.

At least 20 people died after a fire broke out at a lithium battery manufacturing factory near South Korea's capital on Monday, a rescue services representative quoted by Yonhap. The information was provided after conducting initial searches in the burned-down factory building.

It added that the search has not been finished, so the exact number of victims is yet to be announced.

The fire broke out at the Aricell lithium battery factory in Hwaseong, approximately 45 kilometres from the capital of South Korea, around 9:30 PM (3:30 AM Greenwich Time). Extinguishing the fire lasted until the afternoon hours. Video footage from the scene shows small explosions and showers of sparks in the burning facility.

Initially, Yonhap agency reported one death, three injured, and 21 people considered missing.

There could have been 35,000 manufactured batteries in the factory at the time of the fire.