Seoul, Aug 1 (IANS): An electric vehicle caught fire at an underground parking lot in Incheon, just west of Seoul, for unknown reasons before firefighters got the flames under control nearly five hours later, officials said Thursday.

The blaze appears to have started at 6:15 in the morning, from a white Mercedes-Benz vehicle parked in the apartment parking garage. Security camera footage shows smoke coming out of the vehicle before it suddenly burst into flames with an explosion, Yonhap news agency reported.

Sixteen residents, including seven children under the age of 10, were taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation, but all of them are under non-life-threatening conditions, officials said.

Some 70 cars parked near the vehicle are estimated to have been damaged, officials said.

The fire services mobilised 177 firefighters, and 80 fire engines and gear to get the flames under control by around noon.

Police and firefighters plan to look into the exact cause of the fire and the scope of the damage as soon as the remaining flames are completely put out.