At the fire scene of an auto parts manufacturing plant in Munpyeong-dong, Daedeok-gu, Daejeon, 10 of the 14 missing were found dead.
According to the National Fire Agency on the 21st, during the search operation the first missing person was found at about 11:03 p.m. the previous day just inside the entrance to the second-floor break room of the east building. The person was in cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Then at about 12:19 a.m. that day, authorities recovered the bodies of nine additional missing people from a location believed to be a gym on the third floor of the east building.
Police and fire authorities are proceeding with procedures such as DNA testing and fingerprint checks to confirm identities. They are also searching for the four people who have not yet been rescued, deploying advanced search equipment and 119 rescue dogs.
The fire broke out at about 1:17 p.m. the previous day. Although fire authorities were dispatched immediately, they faced difficulties extinguishing the blaze because of sodium inside the plant. Sodium can explode on contact with water. The fire was put out after about 10 hours.
The fire left 10 dead, four missing, and 59 injured.