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An electric vehicle suddenly exploded in a parking lot in Busan, setting five vehicles on fire.
An electric vehicle battery that has been fully charged is believed to be the cause of the explosion.
This is KNN Correspondent Jo Jin-wook.
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A parked electric car suddenly catches fire.
And in less than a second, it explodes and spreads flames to nearby vehicles.
An electric car in a small van that had finished charging exploded in the parking lot of an apartment building in Busan.
[Nam Tae-hyun / Head of the apartment management office: It hit me in an instant.
Not even a second.
Flames erupted from both sides and spread quickly over there.]
Fortunately, there were no casualties, but five vehicles in the parking lot were burned.
Fire scene.
The vehicle and electric charger are completely burned down, and the floor is littered with glass and vehicle parts broken from the impact.
The small van that caught fire is a vehicle made by a small and medium-sized company specializing in electric vehicles.
The fire department, who started the investigation, presumed that a strong explosion occurred when gas filled the battery case under the vehicle.
[Ryu Do-Jeong/Professor of Automobile Department, Korea Polytechnic University: (Accident vehicle) I think the combustion gas generated by the reaction inside the battery was filled to a certain pressure (pressure).
As the pressure (pressure) overcomes the case and is released, the flames are attached at the same time, resulting in an explosive flame (it seems to have occurred.)] The
police are also checking fires caused by flammable substances.
There have been 69 electric vehicle fires in the past four years, increasing every year.
Electric vehicles are more difficult to put out than regular internal combustion locomotives because they have to cool the batteries to prevent them from igniting again.
The fire department will additionally introduce special fire suppression equipment necessary for electric vehicle fires.