Seven people have been pronounced dead and a dozen others sustained varying degrees of burns after a fire outbreak occurred at a hotel in the South Korean city of Bucheon.
The massive fire disaster began on the eighth floor of the nine-story hotel in Bucheon, just west of the capital Seoul at around 7:40 p.m. (1040 GMT) on Thursday, before being put out in about two hours, according to the interior ministry.
Although the fire did not spread throughout the building, however, the damage was extensive as the rooms were not equipped with sprinklers.
According to lee, sang-doo, an official at the Bucheon station, Seven people died, mostly guests, and 12 were sent to hospitals for treatment, with three in critical condition.
Two people died after jumping from windows onto an air mattress provided by the fire department, which tragically flipped over, sending them crashing to the ground.
While others were found in rooms on the eighth floor, where the fire is believed to have started due to an electrical fault.
“Among those killed were a couple who jumped out the windows onto an air mattress installed in front of the building,” Lee said.
“It was unfolded normally but appeared to have flipped over when they jumped down,” he added.
The ill-fated nine-storey hotel was built in 2003, before the requirement for sprinklers was written into law, according to the city’s fire department.
An investigation into the incident is underway, with authorities looking into potential negligence by hotel management.
Korea Interior Minister Lee Sang-min has ordered all-out rescue efforts by mobilising all available resources.
About 70 vehicles and 160 firefighters were dispatched to the scene, Yonhap news agency said, citing provincial fire authorities.
