A powerful explosion set a lithium battery factory on fire in South Korea on Monday, killing at least 16 people, and a search and rescue operation is ongoing for five others who remain missing, local fire officials said.
The fire, which has largely been extinguished, ripped through a factory run by battery manufacturer Aricell in Hwaseong, a major industrial cluster about 90 minutes southwest of the capital Seoul.
The blaze began after a series of battery cells exploded inside a warehouse with some 35,000 units, said Kim Jin-young, a local fire official. What had triggered the explosion remains unclear, he added.