CCTV Footage Of Factory Fire That Claimed Over 20 Lives Sparks Public Outrage
On June 24, a massive fire broke out in a battery factory in Hwaseong, South Korea. Despite a Level 2 response, with over 145 firefighters and 50 fire engines dispatched to combat the flames, over 20 bodies were recovered from the scene, presumably including the 23 workers who were reported missing earlier.
The tragic incident left the entire country shaken after the initial reports. But the newly-released CCTV footage of the fire has sparked deep discussions about the safety of the workers at the factory and whether this tragedy could have been avoided.
The security footage from the factory showed that the fire started with a small explosion from a pile of battery packs that were stacked at knee height. There is no clear indication of whether any external condition triggered the explosion. However, an employee did notice the smoke and quickly backed away. Two male employees began removing the smoking battery pile, presumably to prevent the fire from spreading to the other batteries. Overall, however, the employees on the floor did not seem to realize the seriousness of the situation as they resumed their work.
A few seconds after the smoke started, a large flame combusted from the pile of batteries, causing a secondary explosion. The two employees moving the pack were startled and backed away. Five seconds later, a new explosion occurred, prompting another employee to grab a fire extinguisher. Unfortunately, this powder extinguisher seemed unsuitable for lithium flames, as it did nothing to curb the flames.
As the employee continued to use the extinguisher, another explosion occurred, and the workers started evacuation at this point. Soon after, 5-6 successive explosions occurred with bright flashes as the screen got filled with thick smoke. Approximately 4 hours and 40 minutes later, 21 employees working on this floor were found dead in the corner room opposite the initial ignition point.
The footage has left netizens questioning whether the workers were adequately trained to handle such emergencies. Many felt that had they known about the proper safety measures to take, this death toll could have been completely avoided.
- “The company should have provided regular training for situations like these.”
- “I saw on the news yesterday that many of the workers were temporary contractors who hadn’t been working there long and weren’t familiar with the building’s layout, which contributed to the tragedy. The exit was located near the fire, and there was no exit on the opposite side, so they were trapped and couldn’t escape.”
- “Oh no, they didn’t have enough safety training…”
- “This is so upsetting…”
- “Sigh… If only they had evacuated immediately.”
The incident has put the company, Aricell, under scrutiny as most of its workforce consisted of foreign laborers with F-4 overseas Korean visas and H-2 work and visit visas, despite not meeting the standards to hire such workers. Aricell’s CEO, Park Soon Kwan, denied the accusations of illegally employing foreign workers, stating that most of them were hired through a human resources agency as subcontracted day laborers. He also claimed that the agency was the one providing instructions to the workers, attempting to dodge the responsibility of providing the workers with safety-related job training.
The ratio of foreign workers at Aricell shows that it’s a company that depends heavily on foreign workers. It is highly suspected that this is a case of illegal hiring of foreign workers aimed at gaining cheap labor without appropriate safety measures.
— Professor Kim Sung Hee, Korea University Graduate School of Labor Studies
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