INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA — A catastrophic fire at a massive e-commerce fulfillment hub serving the Seoul metropolitan area has raged for more than 52 hours, triggering emergency evacuations amid mounting fears that the colossal structure is on the verge of a partial collapse.
The blaze broke out at approximately 6:54 AM on Saturday, July 18, 2026 on the sixth floor of Coupang’s No. 32 logistics center in Seo-gu, Incheon. It rapidly spread to the seventh floor, enveloping the 299,000-square-meter facility—an area equivalent to roughly 42 football fields.
Despite a national mobilization order deploying over 800 firefighters and 230 pieces of equipment, the fire has remained fiercely uncontained into Monday. Continuous morning rain has offered little relief, as water cannot penetrate the building's deeply compromised interior.
The facility is densely packed with highly flammable inventory, including consumer household products, paper boxes, and vinyl packaging utilized for Coupang’s signature fast-delivery service. Fire officials reported that trapped heat and zero visibility have made it physically impossible for crews to safely enter the building, forcing them to rely on ground-force defense, ladder trucks, and drones.
"The fire's behavior diverged heavily from expectations," stated an Incheon firefighting official. "Accumulated structural heat and thick, toxic smoke have completely blocked entry into the building." Late Sunday night, around 11:00 PM, Incheon's Seohae-gu district dispatched an urgent text alert ordering the immediate evacuation of all shops, commercial offices, and factories within a 116-meter radius of the warehouse's ramp zone.
The evacuation zone extends primarily to the commercial and industrial complexes directly south of the facility. Additionally, hundreds of nearby citizens have taken shelter at designated local schools, and regional authorities have advised daycare centers and elementary schools to close for the day as smoke continues to choke the air.
Fortunately, all 121 workers who were inside the warehouse when the fire ignited were safely evacuated. However, the relentless battle has taken a toll on first responders: one firefighter has been hospitalized for severe smoke inhalation, while another required immediate treatment for exhaustion.
Coupang Corp, South Korea's largest e-commerce giant, has not yet publicly calculated the exact financial fallout or the extent of the operational damage. However, regional industry experts expect heavy delivery delays across western Seoul and Incheon, with damages likely reaching hundreds of billions of won.
Jeong Jong-cheol, head of Coupang Fulfillment Services, issued an official apology promising that the company will fully cooperate with safety authorities, support the exhausting firefighting initiatives, and assist affected local residents. A rigorous multi-agency investigation into the exact cause of the ignition will commence once the site is completely suppressed and structurally secured.
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