At least seven people were killed and dozens of others were injured Thursday in a fire that spread through an office building in South Korea’s Daegu city, local fire and police officials said.
Dozens of firefighters and vehicles were deployed to put out the blaze, which began around 10:55 a.m. on the second floor of a seven-floor office building near the city’s district court, said Shin Ju-han, a Daegu Fire Department official. Seven people were so far confirmed as dead and 35 others were hospitalized with injuries, including nine whose conditions are serious.
South Korean media published photos they said were received from witnesses that show smoke emerging from the building in Beomeo-dong, an affluent business district in Daegu, which is South Korea’s fourth-largest city and home to more than 2.6 million people.
Officials are investigating the cause of the fire. The Daegu Metropolitan Police didn’t immediately confirm whether there was a possibility of arson.
