Gwangju: Firefighters made all-out efforts on Sunday to extinguish a fire at Kumho Tire's plant, with the fire believed to be some 80 percent contained, according to authorities.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the fire began Saturday morning at the factory in Gwangju, some 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul. About 460 personnel and 170 pieces of equipment were mobilized to put out the fire. Authorities have suspected that the fire may have started from equipment used for heating raw rubber.
Kumho Tire has halted production at the plant due to the fire. Kumho Tire CEO Jung Il-taik apologized for the fire, vowing to make all-out recovery efforts. "(We) will make efforts to minimize inconvenience to those who live near the Gwangju factory and have evacuated," he said. "I truly, deeply apologize. (We) will place extinguishing the fire as the top priority by actively working with the authorities."
A total of 182 residents of an apartment near the factory have evacuated to a shelter at Kwangju Women's University due to the fire.