[Anchor]

A massive fire accompanied by an explosion broke out at a tire material plant in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, leaving three people dead and two others injured. The impact of the explosion was so powerful that building debris flew all the way across the road.

TJB reporter Kim Ji-hun has the details.

[Reporter]

Raging flames swallow the rooftop of a building, continuously spewing black smoke.

Building debris and dust blown apart by the impact of the explosion pour down onto the surrounding area.

The fire broke out at around 11:44 a.m. at a tire material plant in Dongnam-gu, Cheonan.

[Seo Hwa-soon / Seongnam-myeon, Cheonan: Everyone rushed outside. Everyone rushed outside, wondering what that sound was... They put their hands on their chests, shocked and frantic, not knowing what to do.]

Neighboring damage also followed as factory parts flew into another factory across the road and sparks scattered, spreading the fire.

[Gong Lee-deun / Manager at a nearby factory: It sounded like a bomb going off, and the flames soared about 50 meters into the air. While that was happening, smoke kept rising and sparks flew, causing a fire at our factory.]

Fire authorities issued a Level 1 response at around 12:05 p.m., mobilizing 46 pieces of equipment and about 300 personnel, and completely extinguished the flames at around 3:48 p.m., four hours after the fire started.

The scene of the fire is filled with smoke and a pungent odor.

Looking at the upper part of the building, you can see materials burned and bent like taffy.

Casualties were also heavy.

A woman in her 70s who worked in the cafeteria was killed by falling debris outside the factory, and two Filipino men working inside the factory were found dead on the 6th and 8th floors, respectively.

With one Filipino worker in his 30s suffering burns and a firefighter who joined the firefighting efforts injured by falling debris, the fire left a total of three people dead and two injured.

Police and fire authorities believe the fire started on the 4th floor of the 8--story factory building and are investigating the exact ignition point and cause of the explosion.

(Video by Kim Il-won / TJB, Video Editing by Choi Woon-ki / TJB, Video Provided by Chungnam Fire Headquarters)

Kim Ji-hun, TJB