A fire at a lithium battery factory near South Korea’s capital has left at least 16 people dead, seven others injured and six missing, officials said.

Rescue workers at the factory in Hwaseong city, just south of Seoul, retrieved the bodies after combing through the site, local fire official Kim Jin-young told a televised briefing.

Mr Kim earlier said most of the missing people were foreign nationals, including Chinese citizens.

He said the mobile phone signals of the missing people were tracked to the second floor of the factory.

South Korean media reported that much of the blaze has been put out. The exact cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Mr Kim said a total of 102 people were working at the factory before the fire occurred.

President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier ordered officials to mobilise all available personnel and equipment to find survivors.