South Korea’s environment ministry said it planned to hold an emergency meeting next week to discuss EV fires, Reuters reported.

The meetings would involve drawing up measures to prevent such incidents. Other state bodies such as the National Fire Agency would also attend.

It came after a Mercedes-Benz electric sedan caught fire in the underground garage of an apartment in Incheon last week, according to local media reports. The batteries were made by Chinese firm Farasis Energy.

In total, 140 cars were damaged and 23 people were hospitalised due to smoke inhalation, Yonhap news agency reported. The fire took over eight hours to extinguish.

In a statement, Mercedes-Benz Korea said it took the incident very seriously and planned to cooperate with authorities to determine the cause.

Farasis did not respond immediately to a Reuters request for comment.

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