Seoul, Aug 14 (IANS): The South Korean government on Tuesday ordered suspension of the operation of uninspected BMW vehicles after dozens of cars caught fire this year.

From August 20 onwards the German carmaker will carry out a recall of 106,000 diesel vehicles as the company said that the defect causing the engine to catch fire is in the gas recirculation system installed only in the diesel models, reports Efe news.

BMW is expected to conclude its inspections of the affected units on Tuesday, however the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement that some 27,000 models had not been inspected as of midnight Monday and hence it decided to suspend those vehicles.

The ministry said that the owners of those cars which have been recalled will only be allowed to operate them while taking them for inspections and urged their cooperation to avoid any major accident.

The Germany-based multinational said that it will follow the government's decision and will ensure steps which seek to minimise inconvenience to its customers by providing them with rented cars.

This year 39 cases of fire in BMW vehicles have been reported in South Korea, with the most recent one reported on Sunday, which did not cause any injuries.

The company apologised at a press conference held in Seoul last week and said that it will start a "technical campaign" in Europe to check if the problem also affects models sold in that market.