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A fire broke out at a car parts plant in the central South Korean city of Daejeon on Friday, injuring at least 50 people, including 35 with serious injuries, authorities said.
The blaze was reported at around 1:17 p.m. local time, prompting the National Fire Agency to issue a nationwide firefighting mobilization order, a measure taken when the scale of a fire exceeds the local government's firefighting capacity.
Video from the scene showed thick gray smoke billowing from the complex. As the fire spread, the building partially collapsed, authorities confirmed. Officials could not immediately say whether any of the injured were in a life-threatening condition.
It was not immediately clear how many workers remained inside the facility at the time of the blaze. The agency warned the number of casualties could rise. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok issued emergency instructions to the interior ministry and the National Fire Agency to deploy all available equipment and personnel to rescue those trapped and extinguish the blaze, his office said.
Kim also ordered the Daejeon metropolitan government and police to prevent further casualties by implementing traffic control and evacuation measures.
South Korea's prime minister is the government's second-highest official after President Lee Jae Myung.
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