Key Points
A fire likely sparked by exploding lithium batteries swept through a manufacturing factory near South Koreas capital on Monday, killing 22 mostly Chinese migrant workers and injuring eight, officials said...
The fire began after batteries exploded while workers were examining and packaging them at the second floor of the factory in Hwaseong city, just south of Seoul, at around 10.30 am, fire officials said, citing a witness..
The dead included 18 Chinese, two South Koreans and one Laotian, local fire official Kim Jin-young told a televised briefing..
Like other foreign migrants from Southeast Asian nations, they often end up in factories or in physically demanding and low-paying jobs shunned by more affluent South Koreans...
Kim said a total of 102 persons were working at the factory before the fire occurred.. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the countrys No. 2 official, and Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min visited the site later Monday..
