Seoul, April 12 (IANS) A fire broke out at a cold storage warehouse in a southwestern county on Sunday, leaving two firefighters dead as the blaze intensified during rescue operations, South Korean authorities said.
The fire started at around 8:25 am at a fisheries processing company’s warehouse in the county of Wando, South Jeolla Province, prompting authorities to mobilise more than 100 firefighters. It was extinguished after about three hours, according to the Wando Fire Station, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Two firefighters became trapped inside the warehouse and were later found dead, it noted.
According to fire authorities, the blaze is believed to have started while workers were using a torch to remove paint from the building as part of floor-levelling and repaving work.
A fishery company official inhaled smoke and was sent to a nearby hospital, but was not in life-threatening condition.
Lee Min-seok, chief of the Wando Fire Station, said the two firefighters were unable to escape after re-entering the site to extinguish residual flames following the initial operation.
“Oil mist presumed to have been floating near the ceiling exploded,” Lee said at a press briefing. “The operations chief ordered seven firefighters to evacuate after spotting black smoke and flames via radio communication, but two were unable to exit.”
Fire authorities said they plan to investigate the exact cause of the blaze.
Investigators suspect that epoxy flooring, which is highly flammable, may have contributed to the rapid spread of the flames, compounded by the presence of sandwich panels in parts of the structure, which likely hampered firefighting efforts.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung was briefed on the incident and instructed fire authorities to mobilise all available resources to put out the fire and carry out rescue operations, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a written briefing.
In a post on social media platform X, Lee extended condolences to the deceased firefighters, aged 44 and 30, and their bereaved families.
“They rushed to the most dangerous scene to protect the lives and safety of the people, and fulfilled their duties to the very end,” Lee wrote. “I bow my head in tribute to their courage and dedication.”
Lee said the government takes the incident “seriously” and will make efforts to ensure a safer environment for firefighters to carry out their missions.
–IANS
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