Image copyright Gyeongsangnam-do Fire Department/News1 Image caption The man set his own apartment on fire before stabbing his neighbours

A man in South Korea has set his flat on fire and then stabbed building residents as they tried to flee, killing five people, police said.

Thirteen others were injured in the incident that took place in Jinju in the south of the country.

The unidentified 42-year-old suspect was detained and admitted the crime, police said

His motivation was not clear, however police said it was because of overdue wages, according to Yonhap news agency.

Image copyright News1 Image caption The scene of the crime was an apartment building in Jinju

The suspect set fire to his own flat, located on the fourth floor of a residential building at around 04:25 on Wednesday (19:25 GMT Tuesday), the police chief of Jinju told reporters at a press conference.

He then went down to the second floor where he knifed residents coming out of the corridor.

The victims include a 12-year-old girl, a man in his 70s, two women in their 60s and one woman in her 30s, reported Yonhap.

Image copyright News1 Image caption Police were later called to the scene

He was detained at the scene after another resident alerted the police. Fire-fighters extinguished the flames in his apartment some 20 minutes later, say Yonhap.

The suspect had been living alone in the apartment since December 2015, police said.