Investigators pointed to negligence and safety lapses behind a refrigerated warehouse inferno in South Korea. Firefighters said 40 people were confirmed dead and 10 others were injured in the blaze, which swept the underground refrigerated storage depot in Icheon, 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of Seoul.

Provincial fire chief Choi Jin-Jong said the basement of the two-storey facility is believed to have been filled with flammable vapour from earlier insulation work which was ignited by sparks from a welding torch. Dangerous material including liquefied petroleum gas tubes and containers with paint thinners were also found piled up on the site, witnesses said. "Different groups of workers were welding, installing refrigerators and air conditioners, or doing electric wiring and plumbing at the same time when the fire broke out," one investigator said. The ensuing explosions knocked out sprinklers that would have helped douse the flames, and many of the victims were trapped in a basement.

According to APF, a total of 57 people were reported working in the warehouse at the time. Seven escaped unhurt from the blaze, the worst in South Korea since 2003 when 192 people were killed in a subway fire in the southeastern city of Daegu. Kim Sang-Bong, fire service chief in the nearby city of Gwangju, commented: "[The workers] must have either ignored security regulations, or failed to receive basic security lessons."