Five dead, two injured in fire at Hanwha Aerospace plant in South Korea

By Heejin Kim and Hyunjoo Jin

SEOUL, June 1 (Reuters) – Five people have died and two others were injured in a fire at a factory operated by South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace in the city of Daejeon, authorities said on Monday.

The two survivors, including one who was badly burned, had escaped from the facility themselves, a fire official told a briefing.

“Authorities have yet to identify the victims because their bodies were severely damaged,” a health official told the same briefing.

A fire official said that an explosion had triggered the blaze, though the cause of the blast was still being investigated.

Hanwha is a defence and aerospace company. Its factory in Daejeon produces large propulsion engines and handles rocket propellants.

Authorities were unable to obtain the factory’s layout since it is protected under national security laws, an official said at the briefing.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for the mobilisation of all available resources to respond to the accident and for an investigation, his office said in a text message to reporters.

A Hanwha Aerospace official said it was investigating the incident.

(Reporting by Heejin Kim and Hyunjoo JinEditing by Ed Davies)