South Korea office building fire kills at least 7, arson suspected
- All of the dead victims were found in the same room, including an unidentified man who police suspect set the fire in a lawyer’s office
- A police official said security camera footage shows the suspect leaving his home holding an apparent container that may have been used to set the blaze
A fire caused by suspected arson spread through an office building on Thursday in South Korea’s Daegu city, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens of others, local fire and police officials said.
Dozens of firefighters and vehicles were deployed and quickly put out the blaze, which began around 10:55am on the second floor of a seven-floor office building near the city’s District Court.
Seven people were confirmed dead, including an unidentified man who police suspect set the fire in a lawyer’s office. At least 41 people were hurt, mostly from smoke inhalation, and 26 of them were being treated at nearby hospitals, said Park Seok-jin, chief of Daegu’s Suseong district fire department.
No other people were trapped in the building, Park said.
Jeong Hyeon-wook, an official from Daegu Metropolitan Police, said security camera footage shows the suspect leaving his home holding an apparent container with both hands that may have been used to set the blaze. Jeong said all of the dead victims were found in the same room and that police were investigating possible motives.