Exploding batteries spark deadly South Korea factory fire | BBC News

A massive factory fire that began after several lithium batteries exploded has killed at least 22 people in South Korea.
The blaze broke out on Monday morning at the Aricell plant in Hwaseong city, about 45km (28 miles) south of the capital Seoul.
Local television footage showed large smoke clouds and small explosions going off as firefighters sought to put out the fire. A part of the roof had collapsed.
South Korea is a leading producer of lithium batteries, which are used in many items from electric vehicles to laptops.
Subscribe here: bit.ly/1rbfUog
For more news, analysis and features visit: www.bbc.com/news
#SouthKorea #BBCNews

[@geniemartyn]

Scotland still dealing with a similar story.. at a recycling centre at the time of this post.

[@vinesauceobscurities]

The only similarity is the intensity of the fire. Scotland's fire had no deaths and injuries, but over here families actually lost loved ones due to questionable fire evac measures.

[@nanyoungkim444]

As a korean we are very sorry for this terrible accident. And condolences to the victims who are mostly foreign workers. We have got the responsibility to support the victim's families.

[@elvenkind6072]

Accidents happen, no matter how well planned something are. Sorry to hear about the accident and specially the dead. I too hope the families of the victims get helped. With friendly regards from Norway.

[@mrECisME]

"Lithium Batteries only catch fire when literally anything happens to them and they explode" okay, cool.

[@StefanMilner]

Everything he listed was not a normal use of a battery lol

[@nzoomed]

They are lithium metal batteries, not lithium ion batteries like you see in cars or power tools, etc.

[@geoff37s57]

Professor Christensen now says he is a fan of Lithium batteries but he previously stated they should not exist as they are thermodynamically unstable. You can find his talk on KZbin. What is going on?

[@thewiseperson8748]

Lithium batteries are fundamentally a nightmare.

[@Aspartame69]

Battery and explosive are quickly becoming synonyms.

[@achapmaninhk]

@@Aspartame69EVs are still far less likely to catch fire than petrol cars

[@davidcrane372]

And petrol explodes in refineries and stations

[@liamwilson7549]

@@Aspartame69 actually batteries second noun definition is “a fortified emplacement for heavy guns”.

[@Aspartame69]

@@davidcrane372 over the last few years, just 3 separate battery car fires led to the complete collapse of a multi-story car park, and 2 bulk car freighters taking ~8,000 brand new luxury, and over 1,400 privately owned cars. Thats 3 lithium fires, taking out 10,000 cars, 2 freighters and a car park with them.

[@ianharley1726]

A house fire in Gosport, Hants spread to other properties. It was an e-scooter on charge.

[@Ratatoothie]

RIP to all the valuable lives lost. I hope they will improve workign conditions and pay for these people, and that their families receive all the support they need. 🙏

[@Hhhbm]

Of course, there's a risk of fire and explosion when handling lithium batteries. I can't deny that. But the underlying reason why this tragedy happened is what the professor told us. People died of lack of training. I'm Korean, and I feel terrible about it. This happened because the company didn't follow safety guidelines. From the video taken by security cameras in the factory, workers didn't know how to deal with the fire when it first started. Fire caused by lithium battery is not just a fire. It needs a special fire extinguisher. But the company didn't train the workers. The workers had no idea how to put out the fire on lithium batteries. It can be prevented. It should've been prevented. I'm really sorry. Condolences to the victims.

[@jayharr6250]

Lithium batteriy fires are NO joke! The smoke & flames produced by them once ignited are beyond intense! I feel sorry for those who lost their lives in this tragic fire. My heart goes out to them as well as their families 🌹🛐🕊🌹

[@naga2015kk]

surely the manufacturer has such knowledge and FIRE SAFETY as well as regular fire drills etc. THAT IS what the fire service rules for factories.

[@jayharr6250]

@@naga2015kk maybe you should tell that to the 20+ people that just died when the manufacturers batteries caught fire & killed them. Oh wait, you can't... they're dead!😔 Ignorant comment!

[@Felled-angel]

They won't admit they are EV batteries

[@Aspartame69]

All lithium batteries have the potential to do this. So um, lets put 50x more batteries in our infrastructure.

[@cayesuomi]

Because they aren't. They were manufacturing primary cell batteries.

[@KentRoads]

EV batteries are basically the smaller batteries in a huge package of 1000s of them

[@cayesuomi]

​@@KentRoads not really. That reasoning would work for some EV manufacturers which uses 18650 batteries (not the ones produced in this specific factory which were mostly CR2032, AA and AAA), but most of them don't use that standard because of the lost space due to cilyndrical shape of the cell. For instance VW have unified cell architecture, Tesla has own "cell battery"...

[@underarmbowlingincidentof1981]

@@Aspartame69 I mean right now cars are driving around with tanks full of gallons of highly combustible explosion juice so... I mean...

[@DarylSolis]

EV batteries, not just lithium batteries. People think just tiny little AA batteries when they hear batteries. We are talkn huge desk size batteries that exploded there.

[@stickynorth]

Lithium-Ion batteries don't come without risks as this clearly shows.. LFP technology should become the more mainstream option for its improved safety and simplicity...

[@samsmith2635]

..... and Fossil Fuel doesn't have similar risks? Please, first 50 or so years of the Oil and Gas Industry was wrought with death, still is, even in abstract ways or should i remind you why the Japanese attacked Pearl Habour?

[@Oldeagle66]

​@@samsmith2635 I'll stick with my big 472 V8.

[@hartoz]

Unfortunately, LFP batteries are not suitable for mobile devices.

[@markmd9]

LFP batteries are inferior in performance but they are a lot safer because they burn slow, almost like diesel, and BYD managed to make cars with decent range, similar with the concurrents.

[@Master10k2]

@@samsmith2635 Wait, in order to argue about a modern day issue, we going back to WW2 now? 😅

[@ramatgan1]

This is why I will never buy a electric car.

[@underarmbowlingincidentof1981]

we have decades of footage of petrol cars going up, oil sites burning, the skies over Kuwait dark and raining oil but yeah sure no this is the problem

[@seankingwell3692]

@@underarmbowlingincidentof1981 you calling fire fighters liars? Love how you deny the danger when they explain it better then anyone

[@shmiggz]

​@@underarmbowlingincidentof1981 gasoline burns at 900 degress. Lithium burns at 3500 degrees and takes a second or two to reach that temp. Your choice.

[@underarmbowlingincidentof1981]

@@seankingwell3692 yes

[@underarmbowlingincidentof1981]

@@shmiggz yeah yeah and nuclear reactors will destroy the planet I still like nuclear energy and electric cars

[@ggavin9934]

The ev evangelist is of course, blaming the workers. They were packing them and not abusing them. Delusional.

[@davecooper3238]

I did not hear the workers being blamed. Possible poor training was mentioned.

[@michaela7100]

@@davecooper3238 Who handles the batteries?

[@jonathon5411]

These batteries sound like the most dangerous things in the world as this guy describes them. Think i will stick to petrol motors thanks

[@Oldeagle66]

Same, plus I've never seen an ad about driving evs in the hot desert all day..... Hmmmm... lol.

[@inquaanate2393]

50 fires a day from ice vehicles in the uk, not in the news because it is so common.

[@Aspartame69]

@@inquaanate2393 Also, almost always not serious and if a fire engine can get on scene it can be very quickly extinguished. Just over the last few years, about 8000 (many luxury) cars have been destroyed along with an airport multi-story carpark, and 2 international mass car freighters. All just from 3 separate lithium powered cars malfunctioning.

[@hartoz]

Petrol cars are 20x more likely to catch fire than Electric cars.

[@hartoz]

@@Aspartame69 The airport multi-story fire was not an EV fire. Come on man, do your research.

[@YUDNSAY]

If you ever want to go solar/off grid, best not to use lithium batteries.

[@beyondfossil]

Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) is considerably safer than Lithium-NMC at only slightly less power and energy densities. Most commercial home battery products have all converted to LFP.

[@YUDNSAY]

@@beyondfossil That is not reassuring, I'll stick to lead-acid😀

[@rogerhargreaves2272]

Sad for the victims and their families.

[@Taketimeout3]

Gosh. Lithium is more dangerous than nuclear. What an unhelpful " expert" . Another label for him would be more accurate. They are not dangerous but they are very dangerous? !

[@lawrencebishton9071]

wasnt the kiosk honest

[@Peekaboo-Kitty]

EV batteries are so good for the environment. You can see here! 😆

[@jdrancho1864]

this is a massively underreported story. It seems all these stories involving EV batteries are not given a lot of airtime, like the ship carrying EV vehicles catching fire in the middle of the Atlantic.

[@prilep5]

Chinese in Korea making EV batteries 😂

[@jiraiya86]

Low income foreign workers. Korea has alot of those.

[@TheRustyLM]

Two massive infernos at battery recycling plants in Scotland since April.

[@phil20_20]

This is why lithium is a bad investment.

[@chriswilliams6568]

These batteries are proving to be more trouble than they are worth. They explode in cars and on bikes, the mining of lithium is a nightmare for the miners. It is mostly the batteries made in China on cheap bikes that are causing the fires on E V bikes. Such a shame.

[@anthonytclark2479]

People on here in the comments look up on KZbin about electric cars explosion while charging in homes all so look the busses explosion while operating with people on them just trying to get from one place to the other like a regular choice using transportation 😢😢 this is crazy

[@naga2015kk]

its terrible WORK PLACE SAFETY issue in korea. So many nonsensical bad governance. HOW is it that they can't escape and why there weren't any fire control in the factory. How was this factory allowed work with such fire hazard.

[@jiraiya86]

Ban all lithium ev cars and allow other battery types to take over like sodium

[@tonysargent1699]

But everyone has been sold on "The Saviour of this Planet", electricity. Surely this can't be a danger to human life, surely not!

[@beyondfossil]

Weak. It's not great what happened but don't make a mountain out of a molehill. Lithium and battery technology have made rapid advances making them useful for everyday driving but they're still just at the start of this tech tree. If you want to see a real mountain of a problem, refer to gasoline and diesel vehicles that spew their toxic and carcinogenic emissions right in our faces in the places where we live, work, and play. There's a sickly yellow-brown air that clings to the skyline of all of our major urban centers. This is not natural. There are cancerous substances specifically added to gasoline like benzene, toluene, xylene (BTX). BTX is absolutely required to increase gasoline octane and reduce engine knock otherwise you'd hardly get any power out of gasoline. Then there's NOₓ, SOₓ, and carbon monoxide right known to cause respiratory irritation/diseases and lung cancer. That's even with a catalytic converter installed. Fine PM2.5 and smaller particulates of metal shavings and unburnt fuel are being found in the prefrontal cortex of urban humans and even dogs. This can lead to early onset dementia. Then there's the existential crisis of human induced rapid climate changed from 37-billion metric tons of fossil carbon pulled out from miles within the crust and expelled into the atmosphere as if were a free-to-use public toilet. The atmosphere is now at over 422ppm carbon dioxide concentrations which is a level not seen on Earth in 4-million years but all within a span of just 200-years since the start of the Industrial Revolution when we really started burning fossil fuels at an industrial scale. Humans, let alone the biosphere cannot handle this rapid of global environmental changes.

[@jjrider6758]

'The amounts of incidents is absolutely tiny' ?.. Tell that to the crew of the freight ship full of burning EVs off the coast of the Netherlands a while back, and tell it to the families of the crew that were killed or injured trying to extinguish the fire.. or tell the Firefighters who couldn't control the fire in the Luton Airport multi-storey that developed so violently and rapidly due to the large amount of EVs parked within it.. and finally tell it to London Fire Brigade who reported attending over 5000 fires in EVs last year in London alone..

[@stefanvanvuuren3931]

5000 EV fires in London alone? Where on earth did you read that?

[@jjrider6758]

@@stefanvanvuuren3931 Like all Fire Services in the UK, London Fire Brigade has to complete a Fire Damage Report Form 1 (FDR1) for every fire it attends that causes damage to property of value. Amongst other things the FDR1 also records data such as the 'primary source of ignition' and 'item first ignited'.. FDR1s are now electronic documents, the information from which is submitted to the Home Office (Fire Dept.) who collate the information centrally and search for trends in particular appliances or items from a particular manufacturer that may be appearing regularly in the collated data. If a trend is evident they will inform the manufacturer and issue public warnings if deemed necessary - For example, a few years ago Beko fridge-freezers were causing an inordinately high number of fires in domestic properties, a public warning was issued, Beko was informed and they corrected the design flaw causing the problem. In 2023 London Fire Brigade DID indeed report attending fires in over 5000 EVs. Around 70% of these were fires in E-bikes (which are classified as a powered vehicle) the rest were cars, vans etc.. and the majority occurred during charging cycles. EV battery fires are a real worry for Fire Services worldwide as they usually ignite without warning, develop very quickly indeed to a dangerous level, emit extremely toxic fumes and currently there is little, if any, effective firefighting media or equipment available for extinguishing them and even some time after the fire seems to be extinguished spontaneous heating and reignition is a common occurrence. to date 16 people have died in the UK as a result of fires in e-bikes alone.

[@seankingwell3692]

@@stefanvanvuuren3931 you calling fire fighters liars? Love how you deny the danger when they explain it better then anyone

[@andygarside2418]

Saw a poster once that explained what would happen if 99.9% was good enough... hundreds of thousands of children given to the wrong parents every year. Dozens of planes would fall out of the sky and hundreds would die on the operating table. 99.9% of batteries might not catch fire but that is little consolation to the man whos kids died in a house fire.

[@underarmbowlingincidentof1981]

you want a 100% safety rating??? Even buildings you live in aren't 100% safe. We always accept a certain percentage of catastrophic danger.

[@andygarside2418]

@@underarmbowlingincidentof1981 I'd like the batteries on my car to not spontaneously combust! I'd expect a safety level similar to that of a normal car. Very few cases of cars randomly exploding! We accept risk as long as its minimised as much as possible. We trust car manufacturers to sell a product with less than a 0.01% chance of turning to ash. We could look up the statistics of evs produced, the amount of ev fires and add those statistics to ic cars?

[@underarmbowlingincidentof1981]

@@andygarside2418 well first plane flew meters, first car drove seconds. nobody is forcing you to buy an EV. I mean damn, I still got my combustion engine car sitting in my garage even tho I take public transit everywhere and only use it for daytrips. technology will progress. we can jump on the EV train later still. and to be honest I'll take EVs just because the gasoline industry tried to push them away all the time, the same lobbies which kept led fuel in circulation, ew.

[@cruelladevil1001]

Go green 🤪

[@davidcampbell7209]

RIP to those who were killed in this fire caused by electric car batteries. I am shocked that the BBC are reporting this fire as I would have expected they would try to keep it from the viewers. The problem is some people are still promoting these fireball deathtraps and expecting people to put their families into danger by sitting on top of a huge battery which could explode with very little notice.

[@im2b1234]

STUPIDITY. remberence of Samsung Note 7.

[@im2b1234]

Stupid Preventive Measures Stupid Fire Education Extinguishing Lithium fire with water developing a hydrogen bomb.

[@carlosvera4269]

At least comments are allowed this time here while some of the woke news media go no comments.

[@AnythingJW]

these batteries go into any KIA/Hyundai or Tesla EVs?

[@vectorfox4782]

No actually, that lot was reserved for BMW and Lucid

[@anniehills3580]

Water, if small fire. For runnaway fire use.....what?? Which fire extinguisher do we use?

[@Rhotz-ix8ll]

Class D extinguisher. For a big fire, use your feet to run the other way.

[@TheRustyLM]

We look forward to a thorough BBC report on explosive dangers of lithium batteries.

[@auro1986]

bbc, how many ev exploded till now?

[@ub59]

It's time to eliminate cobalt and nickel from batteries. Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) is the safest and most common alternative to lithium ion (LMNC) and not nearly as prone to thermal runaway. Next generation batteries are evolving into sodium hybrid chemistry. Unfortunately, the anti EV crowd uses these stories in their narrative while avoiding the most relevant discussion on internal combustion engine fires which occur at ~20X the rate, or the fact that lithium ion is not the only battery out there. The BBC and its guest commentators need to do better.

[@alberthartl8885]

This company was grossly negligent! There was neither a fire suppression system nor appropriate fire extinguishers. F-500 EA extinguishing agent has been available for over 12 years. Lithium metal batteries need to be stored in compartmentalized warehouse facilities. This will contain any defective battery fire and prevent spreading.

[@stargazeronesixseven]

😮🙏 Have to learn to reduced the risks of over-heating , catches fire & exploding Lithium batteries for all manufacturers of the world! 🙏 Deepest condolences to the families & friends of the deceased ... May their Souls be blessed to a better world & realm ... & be reunited with their loved ones in a better place in due time & space ... 🙏🌼🌿🌍✌🕊🇰🇷🇨🇳

[@LegitJDG534]

The interviewee doesn't seem to have seen the many BYD cars spontaneously combusting. Also "Drop it in water?" NO! It's a alkaline metal, that'll just make it burn even more.

[@purrfekt]

Very impressed with the professor/expert. He has a gift for conveying information in a logical and easily understood manner. I also appreciate his grounded approach in putting things into context while firmly countering the hysterical doomposting ragebait in social media.

[@uludak8468]

bbc missed a crucial fact. this factory produced primal batteries. in contrast to secondary battries, production of primal batteries have looser safety protocols. in addition audition was lousy

[@drivex6761]

Maybe some issue need to start sooner in east asia If sk really need to recover their demography growth Which i dont think an necessary issue U need to loosen the extreme connection in ur society Make incentive programme for micro economy

[@nicoaguswibiantoro5489]

and nobody blame bcs its in Korea so no surprise but if this accident happens in China, the media cover with different articles

[@hystericallyme2239]

nuclear bombs don't commit suicide either what ya point ?

[@mplewp]

This professor really got paid by someone 😹😹😹

[@Libra67jtc]

Do we need anymore proof that EV's are not the future.

[@GodBimmer]

The quality of Korean technology?

[@mewym527]

"EVs are safe" nothing to worry about

[@Nxck2440]

RIP.

[@grahammonk8013]

These were not Lithium ion batteries. They were Lithium liquid metal batteries, they weren't even *rechargeable* They were little button batteries, made by a cheapskate company called Aricell, with migrant workers from China who were likely not properly trained.

[@seanhdr4k629]

It's not Seoul. It's Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. If anyone is interested in the CCTV footage : kzbin.info/www/bejne/op7apX1jl82fhtU

[@mr.pangetako]

RIP. Poor soul. But that won’t change the fact that China is becoming more violent within their neighbors about the disputed sea 🤷‍♂️

[@steffen6987]

720p in 2024....

[@mrg-ghx8052]

Whenever the You Tube pop up appears you know it's a propaganda source. Trusted media 😂😂😂

[@digmed9702]

These things are very dangerous since the current is very high and has little to no spacing, so short circuits are imminent.

[@badgerpa9]

But they keep saying lithium batteries are so safe now. There has been multiple car ferry fires from EV cars, search Car ferry fire of Denmark.

[@ratuly2436]

India wants to take Bangladesh as its own part, but they helped to make Bangladesh independent

[@markuks]

The lithum ion battery expert makes Batteries sound like nuclear meltdown

[@b21raider27]

Sodium batteries, especially solid state versions are much safer.

[@gimmy118]

That's russan weapons Kim John was testing it in shouthKorea

[@lloydgarth1]

and sometimes the batteries explode or start fires in electric cars.

[@chrisstokie2361]

😂😂. See the BBC are busy censoring comments again.

[@RenzoClaros]

This is Samsung's fault.

[@jimbobaby1468]

my hart fent condolences , r.i.p 😢😢

[@PureHairdressing-k7w]

never anything about china thought

[@orde_plongo.3.0]

TNT in other form... lithium

[@davewhite3629]

Well you reap what you sow

[@Peace-xl6pe]

Magical Korea factory

[@thedel775]

Very Informative Paul...Thank you.

[@ramboseemenomore1728]

U sure it wasn’t North Korea😅

[@jacobbaumgardner3406]

Bruh, they can barely make tractors, let alone Lithuim batteries.

[@samsmith2635]

@@jacobbaumgardner3406 dont know about their tractors but the 15,000 artillery pieces and 50,000 missiles they have pointed at Soul would kill a million people in the first twenty minutes. but sure laugh about the North Koreans, they are still there after fighting the USA and the UN

[@Oldeagle66]

​@@jacobbaumgardner3406 😆😆😆😆😆

[@Aranimda]

LiFePO4 batteries are far less risky than Li-Ion and Li-Po.

[@concinnus]

These were even worse than Li-Ion. Wikipedia indicates they were making lithium-thionyl chloride batteries. The thionyl chloride (also includes sulfur) probably means a much more toxic smoke -- the deaths were smoke inhalation.

[@ConstructiveMinds100]

Hopefully China didn't send the special man after Putin's phone call/bribe.

[@domesticcat5069]

🗨️🕉️

[@vectorfox4782]

Battery tech is highly inefficient and outdated. Just ask Lucid Motors they have a factory fire daily.

[@be-Sediq1388]

❤❤❤

[@skanthaadsigns]

#Renewables

[@ScottishPixie87]

Don’t understand why they would even use these things.

[@lanzortiz3199]

Exploding batteries just like samsung phones. 😭

[@seankingwell3692]

There are many video's of firefighters explaining why EV's are more dangerous then gas powered cars, THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT THE FIRES. Sheep need to stay indoors in their barns aka mothers basements and stop acting like they are experts on car fires when they are not.

[@joffey1212]

Hope greta is ok

[@mohammedkhan5344]

And these guys are supposed to be one of the best battery manufacturers. Hopefully people will realise that lithium ion batteries are no joke

[@bradmcdowell9168]

You mean are a joke

@@mohammedkhan5344 🤣🤣

[@hartoz]

The battery cells made at this plant were not for use in EVs. This plant made batteries for mobile devices and e-scooters.

[@marz6217]

isn't e scooter a EV too

[@michaela7100]

Source or it's bs

[@pauls3204]

A scooter is an EV mate

[@cayesuomi]

Just by reading the title of the video it was clear people were going to say some non-so-clever things about EV batteries and so on. For you all, they were primary cell batteries.

[@cj41079]

You see these kind of disasters in SK too often because their regulations and inspections are non-existent.... Lets see....entire mall building collapsed, major bridge collapsed, a ferry that sinked etc. Etc. You wonder why people are not happy with Govt or politicians over there....

[@Durka-Durka01]

I blame 'cLiMaTe cHaNgE'. 😏

[@bullpup1337]

do you have brain worms or something

[@martijnsanders8527]

Basically the professor expert states something that amounts to: it's the death workers own fault since they murdered those batteries. The bodies ain't cooled down yet! Zero empathy! Shame on you!

[@pauls3204]

EV anyone ?

[@catalinacurio]

These lithium batteries need to all be recalled! My bro saved neighbours during a fire that was cause by these batteries.

[@stickynorth]

RECALL ALL CARS BECAUSE MY COUSIN'S SISTERS BROTHERS NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOURS FRIEND DIED IN A CAR FIRE ONCE...

[@catalinacurio]

@@stickynorth Cars don’t catch fire when unattended… Jun 3, 2024 The number of fires linked to lithium-ion batteries in the UK increased by 46 per cent in 2023, compared with the previous year, new research funds.

[@soton5teve]

03:15 - 03:21 someone call Angela lansbury

[@万恶共匪毒害中华]

Are these batteries used for Samsung phones? This is why I never buy South Korea electronic products

[@awittyusernamepleaselaugh7481]

Those batteries are in everything made by everyone. Lithium Ion is the standard.

[@Nxck2440]

You're just racist

[@PaulLewis-hw2jy]

This is why id never buy an electric car

[@wannabefarmer813]

Put them in water he says , when they react with water 🤔🤔

[@NeoCortex-xd3qo]

So Ukraine used cluster bombs on Crimea beach, killing only civilians and there's NO WORD from you about it...?

[@davecooper3238]

Yes there has been. Perhaps don’t take civilians into invaded territory.

[@satorarepo744]

claims require evidence

[@mr.pangetako]

⁠@@davecooper3238How is it invaded territory? Crimea had a legitimate referendum. And people there are happy that they are not affected within the war zone. Yet better living than Ukraine’s situation, which is a ruin land.

[@davecooper3238]

@@mr.pangetako What tosh.

[@bammbalam]

David oh needs to go dude doesnt even speak english