Five people died and two others were injured on Monday after an explosion and fire on a production line for rocket propellant at a factory in South Korea operated by Hanwha Aerospace, officials said.

The two survivors, including one who was badly burned, had escaped from the facility themselves, a fire official told a briefing.

“Authorities have yet to identify ⁠the victims because their bodies were severely damaged,” a health official told the same briefing.

A fire official said that an explosion had triggered the blaze at the factory in the city of Daejeon, though the cause of the blast was still being investigated.

Shares in Hanwha Aerospace fell 2.8 per cent in afternoon trade, while the holding company Hanwha Corp saw its shares drop 3.4 per cent.

The blast appeared to have occurred while water was being used to clean explosive material from tools making rocket propellant, a Hanwha official told a company briefing.