Four dead in fire in South Korean port city: officials

SEOUL, Feb 14, 2025 (AFP): Four people have died and four more were injured in a fire in South Korea's southern port city of Busan on Friday, the National Fire Agency said.

The fire started just before 11:00 am (0200 GMT) at a construction site at the Banyan Tree Hotel, authorities said.

Around 10 workers were on-site at the time, local media said.

Six of them experienced "cardiac arrest", a National Fire Agency official told AFP, with four now confirmed dead.

Four others sustained injuries and the fire has yet to be fully extinguished, the official added.

The fire is believed to have started on the first floor of the construction site where workers had stored insulation materials, a fire department told reporters.

South Korea's acting president Choi Sang-mok ordered relevant ministries to "fully mobilise all available personnel and equipment to extinguish the fire," according to the finance ministry.

"Every effort must be made to prevent casualties during search and rescue operations, while also ensuring the safety of firefighters," Choi said.

The incident comes just weeks after an Air Busan plane caught fire at the Gimhae International Airport, prompting 176 to evacuate and leaving seven injured.