DAEJEON — Rescue workers recovered the remains of 14 people from the charred wreckage of an auto parts factory in the central city of Daejeon on Saturday. An explosion and fire at the factory injured at least 59 other people.

The fire broke out on Friday afternoon and was reported at about 1:18 p.m. Fire officials said 25 people were seriously injured. Fire officials said it was not immediately clear whether any of the seriously injured were in life-threatening condition. Fire officials said the cause of the fire was not immediately known.

More than 500 firefighters, police and emergency personnel were deployed to contain the fire and conduct rescue operations. The blaze destroyed a factory building that firefighters initially could not enter because of concerns it might collapse. Thick gray smoke billowed from the complex as witnesses reported an explosion during the blaze.

Some workers jumped from a building belonging to Anjun Industrial to escape the fire. Some people were injured by jumping from the building to escape the fire, while others suffered smoke inhalation. Fire officials said the blaze appeared to have spread rapidly.

Searches for missing workers began late on Friday. Officials deployed unmanned firefighting robots to cool the damaged structure and conducted a safety inspection of the structure. Nine of the 14 dead were discovered in a gym on the third floor, while three were found near a water tank on the second floor. All missing workers have been accounted for.

Firefighters worked to prevent the fire from spreading to an adjacent facility and to isolate explosive chemicals. Workers recovered more than 100 kilograms of highly reactive chemicals from the site. About 120 vehicles and pieces of equipment were deployed along with hundreds of personnel. The deployed equipment included aircraft, an unmanned water cannon vehicle and two firefighting robots for hard-to-reach areas.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung visited the site on Saturday afternoon and met with relatives of the victims during his visit. President Lee Jae Myung called for safety measures to prevent the damaged structure from collapsing during search operations. As of Saturday morning, 28 people were hospitalized, with four hospitalized people undergoing surgeries for broken bones and other injuries.