A fire swept through a South Korean hospice for elderly, infirm patients early yesterday, killing 21 people, as police investigated an 81-year-old suffering from dementia who may have started the blaze.
The high death toll is likely to fuel an already intense debate over safety standards in South Korea, which is still reeling from last month’s ferry disaster that left about 300 dead — most of them schoolchildren.
It was the second deadly fire in two days after seven people were killed in a blaze at a bus terminal near Seoul on Monday.
Photo: Reuters
Most of the people who were killed died from asphyxiation, rescue officials said, as the fire on the upper floor of the three-story facility filled the rooms and corridors with toxic clouds of choking smoke.
Another seven people were injured, six of whom were in a critical condition as the result of excessive smoke inhalation.
The fire broke out shortly after midnight at the hospice in Jangseong County about 300km south of Seoul.
The facility cared for close to 80 chronically ill, often bedridden patients, including people with advanced Alzheimer’s disease and some who had had strokes.
Police chief Roh Kyoo-ho said an 81-year-old male patient with dementia had been taken into custody after CCTV footage showed him entering a storage room where the fire was believed to have started.
“We are focusing on the possibility of arson,” Roh said, adding that the man, identified only as Kim, had denied any involvement.
“We found a cigarette lighter at the scene and forensic experts are examining it,” Roh added.
Although the blaze was brought under control within 30 minutes, the physical condition of many patients on the upper floor meant they were unable to evacuate before being overcome by the smoke.
One of three nurses on duty died as she tried to douse the flames with a fire extinguisher.
There will be questions over whether the Jangseong hospice was properly staffed, given the relative immobility of the patients, and whether fire safety procedures were up to scratch.
Hospice chief administrator Lee Hyung-seok knelt and touched his forehead to the ground in a display of contrition.
“I’m sorry. I apologize for this terrible thing,” he said.
The 20 patient fatalities in the fire were among 34 people in wards on the upper floor, only seven of whom managed to escape by themselves.
Hospital staff and firefighters denied initial reports that some of the patients had been tied to their beds.
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