7 killed in hotel fire in South Korea

Seoul: Seven people were killed in a fire at a hotel in Bucheon city near Seoul in South Korea, local media reported citing firefighting authorities.

The blaze began in a room on the eighth floor of the nine-story hotel, leaving seven people dead and dozen others injured, Yonhap news agency reported.

The injured are undergoing treatment at local hospitals and three of them are seriously injured, but they are not in critical condition. Among those hospitalised are with serious injuries caused by inhaling smoke.

As per the Yonhap report, some people died after jumping out the windows and onto an inflatable mattress, while one woman was found in cardiac arrest on the hotel stairs and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Interior Minister Lee Sang-min called for all-out efforts by firefighting authorities and the local government to extinguish the fire and rescue people using all available personnel and equipment, the South Korean news agency reported.

South Korea's public broadcaster KBS said the seven people who died were South Korean nationals.

Reports say there were 23 guests in the building when the fire broke out, and many of the bodies were found in guest rooms, hallways and stairs