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| Fire rages at Daegu's Seomun Market ablaze biggest traditional market at dawn on Wednesday. / Yonhap |
By Ko Dong-hwan
Two firefighters were injured as more than 800 people, nearly 100 fire engines and two helicopters battled a huge blaze at Daegu's biggest market on Wednesday.
The fire started about 2 a.m. in Seomun Market's zone four, a 15,300-square-meter building with a basement and four above-ground floors.
Most of 839 stores sold inflammable materials like clothes, bedding units and curtains, which stoked the flames.
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| Firefighters move around the entrance of zone No.4 building. / Yonhap |
Most of the fire has been extinguished by 10:30 a.m.
Mayor Kwon Young-jin visited the site.
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A security officer on overnight duty said he "came out to get some fresh air" and saw flames and smoke coming from the first floor.
The concrete building was built in 1976 in the birthplace city of President Park Geun-hye, now on the verge of being impeached after allegations that she allowed longtime friend Choi Soon-sil to meddle in state affairs.
The city's political significance has aroused suspicions that the fire was started by a person with a grudge against the President.
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| Firefighters battle the blaze in zone No.4 building. / Yonhap |
The fire spread from the first floor to the other floors, destroying all the stores, according to Yonhap news agency.
At 8:50 a.m., part of the building collapsed.
Two firefighters were injured when they fell from the third floor.
Seomun Market covers 93,000 square meters and houses 4,622 stores in six separate buildings.
In 2005, zone 2 caught fire, putting 1,000 employees out of work and causing 60 billion won ($51 million) damage.
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