South Korea: Body found in greenhouse fire site after initial search missed victim

A grim discovery was made in Siheung, South Korea, after a fire in a vinyl greenhouse, which was initially reported as having no casualties, later revealed a body. The victim, a man in his 60s who resided in a container within the greenhouse, was found after his children reported him missing.

The fire broke out on the evening of May 27, reportedly due to an electrical fault. Firefighters responded promptly, deploying 19 units and 71 personnel to extinguish the blaze by 10:49 PM. However, due to the intensity of the flames, an initial search for occupants at 10:35 PM yielded no results, and the fire department concluded there were "no specific issues."

The following day, police also conducted a search for the cause of the fire but did not find the resident. It was only after his children filed a missing person report on May 28 that authorities were alerted. Police used the man's mobile phone location data to re-search the site, eventually discovering his body in the heavily damaged residential container around 4:20 PM.

Officials stated that the body was severely decomposed and the interior of the container was chaotic from the fire, making visual identification impossible. The victim's identity was confirmed through DNA comparison with his children. A subsequent autopsy by the National Forensic Service determined the cause of death to be related to the fire, with no signs of foul play. The Siheung Fire Department is currently investigating whether there were any procedural issues during the initial search operations.