21 injured after Mercedes EV explodes in parking lot

A Mercedes-Benz EV exploded in an underground parking lot at an apartment complex in Incheon, sending 16 people to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

CCTV footage shows a Mercedes-Benz EV exploding at an underground parking lot in Incheon Thursday morning. [YONHAP]

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.

An apartment complex is covered with smoke after a car explosion at its underground parking lot in Incheon on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Firefighters enter an underground parking lot in Incheon after a Mercedes-Benz EV explosion caused a fire on Thursday. [JOONGANG ILBO]

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.

As of press time, 103 people had been evacuated and 106 rescued from stairs and balconies amid the suffused smoke.

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.”

People run out of apartments as a fire broke out in a Mercedes EV parked in an underground parking lot in Incheon on Thursday. [YONHAP]

The smoke suffused the parking lot after a Mercedes EV exploded in Incheon Thursday morning [INCHEON FIRE DEPARTMENT]

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]