A fire broke that out at a company that recycles used oil in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province on Friday morning has left one person dead. 

According to the Gyeonggi Province’s fire services, the deceased, aged 55, was found at around 2:35 p.m. at the site of the fire which began at around 11:12 a.m. after a tank that stores used oil suddenly exploded in the company.

Fire authorities conducted search and rescue efforts after one of the eleven employees who were on duty at the time of the fire was found to be missing. 

Fire authorities lifted emergency response measures around 2:39 p.m., or some three hours and 20 minutes after the fire erupted. 

With smoke from the blaze spreading to nearby areas, traffic was temporarily blocked in both directions on a two-kilometer section of Seohaean Expressway near Hyangnam rest area, some 100 meters from the site of the incident, from around noon, resulting in major traffic congestion before passage resumed at around 1:35 p.m.