North Chungcheong household goods factory fire leaves 1 dead, 1 missing
Published: 31 Jan. 2026, 10:55
-
- LEE TAE-HEE
- [email protected]
![A household goods manufacturing factory in Eumseong County, North Chungcheong, where a fire broke out on Jan. 30 [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/31/13e34d5e-848f-4d14-b04c-fd8f3fe9fc71.jpg)
A household goods manufacturing factory in Eumseong County, North Chungcheong, where a fire broke out on Jan. 30 [NEWS1]
A body believed to be that of a foreign worker was found at the site of a fire at a household goods manufacturing plant in Eumseong County, North Chungcheong.
According to the North Chungcheong Fire Service on Saturday, firefighters searching the site discovered a body on the second-floor staircase of the factory at 12:39 a.m. The remains were transported to a hospital for further examination.
Of the 83 workers who were inside the factory when the fire broke out, 81 managed to evacuate. Two workers — a Nepali national and a Kazakh national — were reported missing.
Fire officials believe the body found at the scene is one of the two missing workers.
“The body was discovered in an area close to where the missing person’s mobile phone signal was last detected,” said an official from the fire department. “The exact identity will be confirmed through an examination by the National Forensic Service.”
The fire broke out at 2:56 p.m. on Friday at a factory that produces diapers and wet wipes. Large quantities of highly flammable pulp stored inside caused the fire to spread rapidly, releasing toxic fumes into the surrounding area.
Fire authorities issued a Level 1 response at 3:20 p.m. the same day, issuing a Level 2 response after five minutes to mobilize additional personnel and apparatuses from nearby stations.
At around 6:02 p.m. on Friday, roughly three hours after the fire began, the fire service declared the blaze initially contained after determining there was no further risk of expansion. Firefighters then continued suppression efforts inside the factory while conducting a search for missing workers.
Due to heavy smoke and intense heat, a firefighting robot was deployed.
Firefighters continued final suppression efforts and additional searches for victims.
As of 9 a.m. on Saturday, the fire was about 90 percent extinguished.
“We are conducting a detailed search of the factory with 52 personnel from six rescue teams, including a special response unit, to locate the remaining missing person,” said Jeong Hyeon-baek, the chief of the Eumseong Fire Station.
Authorities estimated that three of the factory’s five buildings, covering a total area of about 24,000 square meters (258,333 square feet), were damaged by the fire.
BY CHOI JONG-KWON, LEE TAE-HEE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)