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| A fire at a construction site in South Korea killed at least 38 people and injured another 10 on Wednesday, fire authorities said. Yonhap |
President Moon convenes emergency meeting
By Do Je-hae/Reuters
A fire at a construction site in South Korea killed at least 38 people and injured another 10 on Wednesday, fire authorities said.
The fire broke out when workers were building a warehouse in the city of Icheon, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) southeast of Seoul, they said.
They said "rapid combustion" occurred while workers were working on an underground level of the warehouse, adding that they are investigating the cause of the blaze.
A total of 410 people including 335 firefighters, were mobilised to respond to the accident.
President Moon Jae-in asked related ministries to do their utmost efforts for the search and rescue operation by mobilising all available resources, presidential blue house spokesman Kang Min-seok said.
Moon convened an emergeny meeting with his key aides, including Chung Eui-yong, chief of the presidential National Security Office, and Chief of Staff Noh Young-min, at 8:30 p.m. In particular, Moon instructed relevant authorities to contact the family members of the foreign workers that have been killed or injured in the fire and extend full assistance to them should they wish to visit Korea.
The fire was extinguished five hours after it occurred at 1:32 p.m.
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| A total of 410 people including 335 firefighters, were mobilised to respond to the accident. Yonhap |
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| The fire was extinguished five hours after it occurred at 1:32 pm, Yonhap News Agency said. Yonhap |
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