A fire at a warehouse in South Korea killed 25 people on Wednesday, it was reported, while “all necessary” resources were being mobilised to save those still trapped inside.

The blaze at the unfinished four-storey building in Icheon, east of Seoul, left 25 dead and seven injured, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.

A fire department official was quoted as saying the fire spread “extremely quickly”, rendering people inside “unable to evacuate”.

The blaze was reportedly started by an explosion during construction work involving combustible urethane used for insulation in a basement floor.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun ordered the mobilisation of “all necessary personnel and resources” to find and rescue those trapped inside and extinguish remaining flames.