A Mercedes-Benz EV exploded in an underground parking lot at an apartment complex in Incheon, sending 21 people to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The apparent vehicle blaze broke out at 6:15 a.m. according to fire authorities, and was completely extinguished in eight hours.
The vehicle, which appears to be a white Mercedes EQE sedan, is seen exploding around two seconds after showing smoke in CCTV footage.
Twenty-one people who inhaled smoke were transferred to hospitals for medical treatment, including a firefighter who’d experienced dizziness. Seven of them were children younger than 10, including a one-year-old and a four-year-old.
Some 70 cars parked near the Mercedes were damaged, according to fire authorities.
“The burned car is confirmed to be an EV from Mercedes-Benz,” police said. “We will conduct an immediate investigation of the exact cause of the fire with the local fire authority.”
![The smoke suffused the parking lot after a Mercedes EV exploded in Incheon Thursday morning [INCHEON FIRE DEPARTMENT]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/08/01/7af32281-bb45-4714-8ece-85f599d66b74.jpg)
The apartment complex includes 14 buildings with a total of 1,581 households. The fire department received 197 calls as black smoke surged high into the sky.
A total of 177 emergency responders, including firefighters, were dispatched to the site.
The Mercedes EQE sedan is reportedly equipped with batteries made by the Ningde, China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL). It was launched in the Korean market in 2022.
“We can’t confirm details about the exact model and batteries at the moment,” a spokesperson from Mercedes-Benz Korea told the Korea JoongAng Daily. “We are taking this very seriously and will do our best to collaborate with fire authorities to determine the exact cause.”
Updated, Aug.1: Updated to reflect the most recent totals of people who were evacuated and rescued.
BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
![U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner at the National Building Museum in Washington on April 8. [REUTERS]](https://www.koreadailyus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/0409-Trump-100x70.jpg "Trump’s Illegal Immigrant Crackdown Is Misguided and Missing the Real Threat")
