The police are conducting a joint investigation into the massive fire that broke out at a lithium battery factory in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province on Monday, killing 23 people.

A team of police, firefighters, forensic experts and other government officials carried out a four-hour examination of the fire scene on Tuesday, focusing their efforts on determining the exact cause of the accident.  

Five officials from Aricell, the battery manufacturer that owns the ill-fated plant, including CEO Park Soon-kwan, are being investigated on charges of professional negligence resulting in deaths. 

The five officials have been banned from leaving the country.

Authorities are also looking into whether Park violated the Serious Accident Punishment Act.

The joint inspection team said it plans to conduct additional investigations after analyzing all the information that has been collected.

Fire authorities wrapped up on-site search operations for a missing worker after recovering another body on Tuesday, which raised the death toll to 23. 

Among the dead, three victims have been identified as Koreans, but the identification of others will likely to take time due to severe damage to the bodies. 

Of the eight people injured from the fire, six of them were seriously hurt, with one of them reported to be in critical condition.

Fire authorities suspect the blaze was sparked by lithium batteries, which caused a series of explosions that filled a workroom with smoke and flames in just 15 seconds. 

Workers at the scene immediately tried to put out the fire using fire extinguishers, but failed.

Fire authorities said the blaze erupted near the entrance of the workroom, which led workers fleeing the flames to move further inside the room, resulting in heavy casualties.