A deadly fire that took six lives during a clash between police and demonstrators Tuesday morning was caused by makeshift bombs prepared by the protesters, Yonhap News reported quoting prosecutors Thursday.
"We've confirmed that the victims died as the fire from the makeshift bomb spread to a watchtower on the roof that was filled with inflammables," an official at the Seoul District Prosecutors' Office was quoted as saying.
The fire erupted early Tuesday morning at a building rooftop in Yongsan, central Seoul, during a crackdown by police commandos on a group of squatters staging a sit-in against an urban redevelopment project in the area. The blaze killed six people, including a police officer, and left more than 20 injured.
The protesters have said that the fire broke out while police commandos stormed the building, claiming that the crane-lifted container carrying the commando team to the rooftop shook the building and ended up spilling paint thinners.
The prosecution's announcement of its probe result has come extraordinarily swiftly, with Seoul's police chief Kim Seok-ki under mounting pressure to resign. Kim, who was recently appointed by President Lee Myung-bak to head the country's police agency, was also accused of using excessive force last summer in dealing with demonstrators opposed to the reopening of South Korea's market to U.S. beef.
Some squatters will likely face criminal charges, according to a prosecution official, as they were aware of the risk of storing a substantial amount of paint thinners and other inflammable material in one area.
Prosecutors, however, said they could not identify who actually started the fire due to conflicting testimonies among the squatters.
They also hinted that police commandos at the site would not likely face charges as they concluded that the decision to storm the building was authorized by the Seoul police chief through proper procedure.
Prosecutors also sought arrest warrants for six of the protesters on charges of obstructing police public work. A court was to decide whether to approve the warrant later in the day.