Several Chinese nationals died in South Korea's battery plant fire Monday, but the death toll had yet to be confirmed, according to the Chinese embassy in South Korea.

Twenty-two people were confirmed dead and eight others were injured after the fire broke out at a primary battery plant in Hwaseong, around 45 km south of the capital Seoul, at about 10:31 a.m. local time (0131 GMT).

Kim Jin-young, a local fire station official, said in a televised briefing that rescue workers retrieved the bodies of the 21 missing factory workers who had failed to be reached after the fire outbreak.

The victims were believed to have failed to escape through stairs to the ground.

Ahead of the search operation inside the ill-fated plant, one worker died after having been found in cardiac arrest.

Of the dead, 20 workers were estimated to be foreigners, Kim noted.

Two others were seriously wounded, while six suffered minor injuries such as smoke inhalation. 

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