Aricell battery factory fire

Aricell battery factory fire

CCTV still capture showing the fire out of control
Date	24 June 2024 (2024-06-24)
Time	10:31 a.m.–16:30 p.m. (KST)
Duration	approx. six hours
Location	Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, South Korea
Coordinates	37°11′20″N 126°40′39″E
Deaths	23
Non-fatal injuries	8
Missing	1

On 24 June 2024, in Hwaseong, South Korea, a lithium battery factory owned by Aricell caught on fire after several batteries exploded. The fire killed 23 workers and wounded eight more, mostly Chinese nationals.

Background

Aricell manufactures non-rechargeable lithium-thionyl chloride batteries. A 1986 Jet Propulsion Laboratory study titled Safety Considerations of Lithium-Thionyl Chloride Cells noted that "safety hazards have ranged from mild venting of toxic materials to violent explosions and fires."

Explosions

CCTV still capture showing the moment the fire starts

External videos
Smoke fills the air just 42 seconds after the first ignition... CCTV inside battery factory revealed, Yonhap News

Starting at 10:31 a.m. KST on 24 June 2024, a series of explosions occurred at a warehouse in a battery plant which contained over 35,000 batteries. The fire started at a workstation on the second floor of the building. The batteries contained many flammable components such as lithium, causing the fire to spread rapidly. Large clouds of white smoke were present throughout the compound, with numerous explosions occurring across the building. About 100 people were working at the warehouse at the time of the initial explosion. Many sections of the roof collapsed due to the fires, and large sections of concrete were scattered around nearby streets due to the force of the explosions.

Roughly 145 personnel and 50 pieces of equipment were deployed to the scene. The fire caused by the explosions was extinguished about six hours after the initial explosion, at 3:10 p.m. KST.

Casualties

Eighteen Chinese workers, two South Koreans and one Laotian were among the dead, according to the Hwaseong fire service. Gyeonggi Province fire official Cho Sun-ho reported that most of the workers were temporary employees who likely were not familiar with the structure of the building. He said that the workers were killed by smoke inhalation instead of burn injuries due to the fire starting on the second floor of the warehouse, with the workers likely succumbing within 15 seconds of the fire spreading to their location after taking one to two breaths due to the toxicity of the smoke generated by the batteries.

Due to the intensity of the fire, it was difficult to immediately identify the dead. Missing people were discovered by using their mobile phone signals to geolocate them to the second floor of the factory. Officials noted that the dead workers were likely unable to escape using stairs to the ground. Twenty-two bodies were retrieved from the factory, while one victim subsequently died in a hospital.

Eight people were injured, two with second-degree burns. One person is still missing.

Investigation

Three company officials are under investigation on suspicion of violating industrial safety laws.

Response

Government officials, including the Chinese ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, visited the site later that day and expressed their condolences to the victims. Yoon also ordered a full investigation into the cause of the fire.

Aricell CEO Park Soon-kwan apologized and expressed his condolences to those affected by the accident on the following day. Park also stated that he would provide support and will cooperate fully with the investigation.