A powerful explosion set on fire a lithium battery factory in South Korea on Monday, killing 22 workers, most of them Chinese nationals, local fire officials said.
The fire, which was extinguished, ripped through a factory run by battery manufacturer Aricell in Hwaseong, a major industrial cluster about 90 minutes southwest of the capital Seoul.
Nineteen Chinese workers and one Laotian were among the dead. The nationality of the remaining deceased workers was not yet confirmed, Kim Jin-young, a local fire official, told reporters, citing company officials.
The Chinese embassy in South Korea confirmed that several Chinese nationals died in the fire.
