37 killed at hospital fire in Miryang
Firefighters inspect the emergency room at Sejong Hospital where a fire killed 41 people and injured 131 others in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, Friday. Yonhap
By Kim Hyun-bin
A fire killed at least 37 people and left at least 131 injured as the blaze swept through a hospital for the elderly in the southeastern city of Miryang, Friday.
Firefighters had difficulty getting inside the building due to heavy smoke. Most of the deceased were presumed to have died of asphyxiation, firefighters said.
The identities of the deceased were not immediately known. Among the deceased were one doctor and two nurses.
The fire is suspected to have started at around 7:30 a.m. in the emergency room located on the first floor of the Sejong Hospital, about 380 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to authorities. They suspect a short circuit caused the fire, although they will investigate further to discern the exact cause.
The five-story hospital was housing 177 patients according to the hospital director, mostly elderly people. Next to the hospital building was a nursing home by the same name with 94 patients. The majority of victims came from the main hospital building, while the patients in the annex building were safely rescued, the police said.
Firefighters contained the fire about 100 minutes after the breakout of the blaze. Authorities have transferred rescued patients to four hospitals nearby.
The chief firefighter said his team arrived at the scene in three minutes but the rescue effort was delayed due to thick smoke.
Choi Man-woo, chief of the Miryang fire station, said the death toll could rise, as more than 10 injured people are in serious condition. Choi said the hospital was not equipped with fire sprinklers. It is still unknown whether the installment of sprinkles was mandatory for the medical facility, which has some 193 beds.
“There were many elderly patients with respiratory diseases who could not move without help and who are vulnerable to fire. That’s why we have so many casualties,” Choi said.
The deadly blaze came a little over a month after a fire at a Jecheon sports center, which took 29 lives and left 40 injured. Since then, the government vowed to take precautionary measures to enhance public safety.
President Moon Jae-in convened an emergency meeting with his senior staff to discuss ways to deal with the tragic incident, Cheong Wa Dae said.
"The President ordered all necessary measures for those rescued to prevent additional damage," Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Soo-hyun said in a press briefing.
Moon has called on the prime minister’s office to identify the exact cause of the fire to prevent future fires. He also urged them to accurately identify the cause of each death to minimize confusion for the bereaved families, the spokesman said.
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon ordered the interior minister, the national fire agency chief and the health minister to work in sync to minimize damage.
Political parties, in a rare show of unity, traveled to the city to offer condolences to the victims’ families and assess the extent of the damage.
“We hope all-out countermeasures are made to prevent additional casualties,” said Kim Hyun, spokeswoman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.
Voicing deep sorrow over the tragic incident, Choung Tae-ok, spokesman of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, requested the government take thorough actions regarding the accident. “We cannot help but feel flabbergasted,” Choung told reporters. “There must not be any mistakes in rescue operations.”