The blaze broke out around 10.30pm GMT (7.30 am local time) on the first floor of Sejong Hospital in the city of Milyang, according to firefighters. The hospital evacuated 22 people, mostly patients to nearby hospitals and 78 patients from the nursing home – which adjoined the main building – and caught fire also escaped the area, according to authorities. Rescue work is under way in a desperate search to find around 100 patients believed to still be inside the hospital.
The blaze is suspected to have started in the emergency room and firefighters tackled the fire for three hours, authorities said. The identities of the victims were not immediately known.
President Moon Jae-in has called an emergency meeting with his senior aides on Friday to discuss ways to deal with the tragic fire. Presidential office spokesman Cheong Wa Dae said: “An emergency meeting of senior secretaries has been convened at an order from the president."
Choi Man-woo, the head of Miryang city's fire station said at least 10 of those injured were in a critical condition.
Miryang is about 168 miles (270km) southeast of the capital Seoul. The people who have been evacuated were being treated at four other nearby hospitals. Pictures from the scene show parts of the hospital completely gutted by the blaze. Smoke could be seen billowing from the building as fighter rushed to tackle the blaze. This fire is the deadliest fire in the last 10 years. Last year 29 people were killed after flames ripped through an eight-story building in the city of Jecheon in North Chungcheong province.
South Korea is set to hold the Winter Olympics from February 9 to 25.
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