Two firefighters were found dead early on Thursday after being trapped in a meat processing factory in North Gyeongsang Province while trying to put out a fire.

Fire authorities found the two in cardiac arrest at around 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., each on the third floor of the factory in Mungyeong where the fire broke out at 7:47 p.m. on Wednesday.

The deceased were reportedly firefighters aged 27 and 35 from the Mungyeong fire station who became isolated and trapped while searching for people and checking for blazes on the third floor along with two other firefighters. 

Authorities said they appeared to have been unable to escape through the stairs as the fire rapidly spread.

Fire authorities extinguished the main fire after mobilizing 47 firefighting apparatuses and some 340 personnel.

They plan to conduct a joint on-site inspection with police on Thursday to find the exact cause of the fire.