Fire department says number of casualties could rise after search of building that houses swimming pool and restaurants

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

At least 29 people have died in a fire at a sports centre in the central South Korean city of Jecheon on Thursday night, and another 29 are injured.



The fire quickly engulfed the entire eight-storey building, leaving many trapped inside. Twenty victims were found at a public sauna and others elsewhere in the building, which houses a fitness centre, public bath and restaurants, the national fire agency said.

“The fire produced so much toxic smoke so quickly, leaving many people unable to evacuate,” an agency spokesman said. Many victims appeared to been unaware of the fire raging outside the bathhouse until it became impossible for them to escape, he added.

The South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, expressed deep sorrow over the incident and urged officials to make “utmost efforts” to rescue any survivors, his office said.

A fire department official said the toll could rise as rescuers continued to search the building. He said many of the casualties had been using the public bath on the second and third floors, which made it harder for them to escape.

Media showed the building engulfed in fierce flames and black plumes of smoke. More than 100 firefighters battled the blaze with trucks and helicopters. Several people jumped on to mattresses laid on the ground.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Flames and smoke seen rising from the building in Jecheon. Photograph: Kim Hyung-woo/AP

It is unclear what caused the fire but officials said it probably began in the building’s car park. The blaze has almost been extinguished, leaving firefighters the task of searching for any more victims.

Local media said some of the bodies were unrecognisable.

Organisers for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics said the route of the Olympic torch relay, which had been scheduled to pass through Jecheon on Friday, would be revised because of the disaster. “We decided to cancel the event to mourn the victims,” an official at the organising committee told the Yonhap news agency.

The city is about 120 kilometres (75 miles) south-east of Seoul.

The fire is the worst in South Korea since 2008, when a blaze at a warehouse in the city of Icheon killed 40 workers.

The country’s worst fire in recent decades was caused by an arson attack on a subway station in the southeastern city of Daegu in 2003. The blaze left 192 people dead and 150 injured.