A fire broke out Tuesday at Hyundai Motor Group's Uiwang Research Center in Samdong, Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province.
The blaze started at around 11:40 a.m. at the facility, according to Yonhap and fire department officials. No casualties have been confirmed so far.
After receiving a report from a witness that "a fire had broken out and large amounts of black smoke were rising," fire authorities dispatched about 30 pieces of equipment, including pump trucks, and roughly 80 firefighters to battle the blaze.
The building where the fire broke out is a two-story reinforced-concrete research block with a total floor area of 3,080 square meters. Authorities believe the fire started from a battery inside the building.
Uiwang city sent an emergency alert urging nearby residents to move away from the site and asking drivers to take alternate routes.
Police and fire authorities plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire and the extent of the damage once the blaze is fully extinguished.
yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com
