▲ A joint investigation by police, firefighters and forensic officials is under way at a lithium battery plant in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, on June 25, 2024. The death toll from a fire at the plant the previous day reaches 23. (Yonhap)

(4th LD) battery plant fire-search

(4th LD) One more body retrieved from battery plant fire site

(ATTN: UPDATES with more info throughout; REPLACES photo)

SEOUL, June 25 (Yonhap) -- Rescue workers retrieved one more body Tuesday after a fire at a lithium battery plant in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, one of the worst chemical plant accidents in the country.

The retrieval increased the death toll to 23 from the fire that gutted lithium battery maker Aricell's plant in Hwaseong, 45 kilometers south of Seoul, the previous day.

Eight others also sustained injuries, two of them seriously.

Shortly before noon, rescuers pulled out the additional body, believed to belong to a worker who had remained missing, reportedly from under collapsed iron beams and other debris.

About 100 personnel and two rescue dogs were mobilized during the day for the search, which had continued since the previous day.

All deceased victims were found on the second floor of the plant, where the fire first started, while they were inspecting and packaging finished battery products.

Seventeen of the victims were Chinese, while five were Koreans, and one was Laotian, police said, updating the initial count of two Koreans by fire authorities.

A team of police, firefighters, forensic workers and other government officials launched a joint investigation at the fire site around noon to determine the cause of the accident.

Police have requested autopsies on the bodies to determine the cause of death.

The identities of only two Koreans among the victims have been confirmed so far, as the bodies of the others were severely destroyed in the fire and are beyond recognition.

"We plan to confirm the victims' identities by collecting DNA from their bodies," a police official said, adding that the process may take some time because they were mostly foreigners.

Following the investigation, rescue workers plan to resume their search inside the scorched plant to see if there are any other remaining victims.

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