SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (AP) – A fire broke out at the basement of a shopping mall in Daejeon, South Korea yesterday, killing at least seven people, officials said.
Firefighters were searching for survivors after putting out the blaze, said official at the Daejeon Fire Headquarters Go Seung-cheol.
He said it wasn’t immediately clear if there were people still missing and that smoke remained in some parts of the building.
The fire broke out at around 7.45am and quickly spread across the basement’s loading dock area, prompting the evacuation of more than 110 people, including mall employees and customers at a nearby hotel.
More than 500 firefighters and 90 vehicles were deployed to fight the fire, which was extinguished at around 3pm, Go said.
Photos from the scene showed a cloud of dark-grey smoke emerging from beneath the building (AP pic, below) as firefighters used water hoses and other equipment to put out the blaze.
Fire official at the Yuseong fire department Lee Seung-han said six of the people found dead were mall employees and that officials were still trying to identify the other victim.
Fire officials and police were investigating the cause of the fire.
