At least 14 people killed in fire at South Korean car parts factory

A fire at a car parts factory in South Korea has killed 14 people and injured almost 60 others, Report informs referring to The Guardian.

Firefighters said all of the missing are now accounted for after a search operation of the wreckage of the three-storey building.

Video footage of the blaze at the factory in Daejeon seemingly showed people jumping from the first floor to escape.

Nam Deuk-woo, a local fire chief, told the New York Times that the fire had spread so quickly that by the time firefighters arrived, workers had already started jumping out of windows.

About 170 workers are believed to have been inside the factory when the fire was reported on Friday afternoon. It was not extinguished until Saturday afternoon, local time.

Firefighters were delayed in accessing the building because of fears it would collapse, and could not immediately spray water on to the blaze because sodium – which can explode when mixed with water – was stored at the site and had to be removed first.

More than 200kg of highly reactive chemicals were recovered from the site.

Plumes of black smoke were filmed rising from the steel-framed building as fire crews shot water at it from cranes. More than 500 firefighters, police and emergency personnel were deployed to the scene, along with two unmanned firefighting robots to cool the building and access areas too dangerous or difficult for rescuers to reach.

Officials are still investigating the cause of the blaze but a witness told South Korea"s Yonhap news agency that they had heard an explosion.