When constructing a building, the basic security protection must be taken to ensure the protection of the building and the people in it
At least 29 people were killed and 26 injured on Thursday in a major blaze at a fitness center building in the South Korean city of Jecheon, officials said, in one of the country’s deadliest fire disasters. The fire broke out around 4:00 p.m. local time (0700 GMT) and quickly engulfed the entire eight-story building, leaving many trapped inside.
Twenty victims were found at a public sauna and others elsewhere in the building that houses a fitness center, public bath, and restaurants, the National Fire Agency said. Many victims appeared to be unaware of the fire raging outside the bathhouse until it became impossible to flee, said an agency spokesman.
Television footage showed the building consumed by orange flames and issuing dark plumes of smoke, as several people stood waiting to be rescued from an outdoor terrace. Some were seen jumping from the building onto air mattresses laid out on the ground as dozens of fire trucks and more than 100 firefighters rushed to the scene. The blaze is believed to have started in a parking lot on the first floor.
Jecheon is in central South Korea, about 120 km southeast of the capital Seoul. The disaster forced organizers of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics to cancel a planned torch relay event at the city on Friday, Yonhap news agency said, citing the organizers.
The fire is South Korea’s worst since 2008 when a blaze at a warehouse in the city of Incheon killed 40 workers. The worst fire ever to hit modern South Korea was an arson attack on a subway station in the south-eastern city of Daegu that left 192 people dead and nearly 150 injured.
It was unclear what caused the fire but it likely began at the building’s parking lot, according to fire officials. The building had several restaurants and leisure facilities, including a gym, the public bath, and an indoor golf practice facility, the officials said.
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