Building site fire kills at least 38

SEOUL — A blaze at a construction site southeast of Seoul killed 38 people on Wednesday in one of the deadliest fires to hit South Korea in recent years, police officers and local news reports said.

With emergency workers still looking for one other person who may remain trapped inside a building filled with toxic smoke, they have so far found 38 bodies, Seo Seunghyeon, a local fire department chief, said during a news briefing. Ten others were injured, including eight in serious condition, he said.

When the fire broke out, 78 workers were believed to be working in the fourstory warehouse under construction in Icheon, 50 miles southeast of Seoul, the fire department said.

The blaze was the third devastating workplace fire to hit South Korea in recent years, and came as President Moon Jaein has struggled to make good on his promise to put an end to the manmade disasters that have convulsed the country since a 2014 ferry sinking killed more than 300 people.

The fire department said it was investigating the cause of the blaze. But Seo said that investigators suspected that it was caused by an explosion in an underground level, where some workers used urethane, a combustible chemical used for insulation work.

Dozens of fire engines were sent to control the flames. Prime Minister Chung Syekyun urged his government to dedicate every available resource to rescue the workers believed to be trapped in the warehouse.