The death toll from a fire which broke out in a warehouse in South Korea undergoing the final stages of construction has risen to 40.
Most of the victims were construction workers, who were overcome by toxic fumes and smoke when they were trapped in the basement of the refrigerated facility in Icheon, around 50 miles south of Seoul. It is not clear exactly how the fire started, but workers were injecting urethane foam into walls at the time. Another ten workers were hospitalised for burns and smoke inhalation and seven people were reported to have escaped from the building.
The 22,000 square metre facility was going to be used for food storage. More than 600 firefighters and police officers were at the scene.
Police are questioning officials from Korea 2000, the logistics company that owned the warehouse, subcontracting companies and the Icheon City administration. The Korea Times reports that prosecutors are investigating possible deals between the company and local government officials relating to the building of the facility. “We are looking closely into links between the company and local government, and adding three more experts in construction and firefighting to the investigation team,” said Park Hak-geun, spokesman for Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency.
Korea 2000 has also been in discussions with relatives of the victims about compensation but no agreement has yet been reached.
