A fire broke out at a cold storage warehouse in Wando County, South Jeolla Province, trapping two firefighters who were dispatched to extinguish the blaze. Interior Minister Yoon Ho-jung ordered all relevant agencies, including the National Fire Agency, National Police Agency, South Jeolla Province, and Wando County, to mobilize all available personnel and equipment for rescue operations and fire suppression.
Yoon issued emergency directives regarding the fire on Monday, stating, "All relevant agencies including the National Fire Agency, National Police Agency, South Jeolla Province, and Wando County must mobilize all available personnel and equipment to focus all efforts on rescuing the missing firefighter and suppressing the fire." He added, "Exercise extreme caution to prevent additional safety accidents during search and suppression operations."
According to fire authorities, a fire of unknown origin broke out at approximately 8:25 a.m. at a cold storage warehouse in Gunoe-myeon, Wando County, South Jeolla Province. Fire authorities issued a Level 1 response at 9 a.m. and began firefighting operations.
During the firefighting operation, two firefighters who had entered the building became trapped inside. One was later found dead. The other remains missing, and authorities are conducting search operations.
Fire authorities are currently focusing on searching for the missing firefighter while extinguishing remaining flames. They plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire and the extent of damage once the fire is fully suppressed.