The Korea Herald

피터빈트

Incheon hotel fire injures 54, including 8 foreigners

By Yoon Min-sik

Published : Dec. 18, 2023 - 11:44

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People try to escape a hotel in flames in Incheon on Sunday. (Yonhap) People try to escape a hotel in flames in Incheon on Sunday. (Yonhap)

A fire broke out at a hotel in Incheon Sunday night, causing injury to 54 people including eight foreigners, the local fire department said Monday.

The fire appears to have originated from the parking tower in the 18-story building, said officials of the Incheon Gongdan Fire Station, whose jurisdiction includes parts of Namdong-gu and Yeonsu-gu in the southern part of the city.

The facility was set ablaze around 9 p.m. and 54 people suffered varying levels of injury including smoke inhalation and bone fractures while evacuating from the building. One man in his 20s was reported to have sustained fractures while escaping the building, and a foreign woman in her 30s sustained two-degree burns on her body.

None of the injuries were fatal.

Several guests escaped the flames by jumping to the rooftop of an adjacent building, and videos of their perilous flight were shared widely on social media.

Guests of the hotel who had not been injured were moved to a community center of Namdong-gu.

Fire authorities are investigating the cause of the blaze.